It Was Never A Love Story
by Damien-Damien
Summary: Two men, trying desperately to find Kira, find that a few moments of passion have led to some unexpected consequences. LightxL, mpreg, yaoi. Don't read if that doesn't sound good to you.
1. Prologue

Before you start reading this, I want to make sure you don't get the wrong idea about anything. This is not, was not, and never will be a love story. It's just a story of two men. Nothing more, nothing less, so if you're in a particularly romantic mood, I suggest you look elsewhere for something sweet and flowery to read.

I didn't personally know the great detective known as L until I was just over fourteen, even though I'd been raised for nearly ten years being told about his many achievements, and what an honor it would be if I could be picked to replace him. Personally, whenever I heard the adults talking to me or any of the other kids about this, it left a kind of sick feeling in my stomach. They were raising us to take the place of another human being after their death; pushing such morbid thoughts and dreams into the brains of children. It's really no wonder that we're all coming out of that place so screwed up. Now, I could keep talking about what a shit job the Wammy's House did at raising us, but then I'd never get to the actual story, now, would I? So let's move on.

L told me this story in bits and pieces after I came to Japan over the course of several weeks, so it might seem a bit choppy at times. If this is the case, I apologize ahead of time. I'm a curious guy, so there was no way for him to not tell me. I would've kept bugging him until I got an explanation, and then he never would've caught Kira. I don't really know that this is my story to tell, but I think the kid has a right to know this stuff. Be glad I'm sharing with you guys, too. But before we start delving into this, a brief disclaimer. I've never really known L, so I can't guarantee that everything I'm about to tell you will be entirely accurate, especially my pathetic attempts at figuring out why he did some of the things he did, namely sleeping with Kira, other than the reasons he gave me, no matter how certain I am that he never really told me the complete truth about any of this whole thing. I can't read minds, y'know. I'm sure I'm boring you, though, so let's just get on with it already.

~*~

The first time it happened, L told me, was about a week after Light was released from his confinement. A stupid move in and of itself, if you ask me, but of course the task force wouldn't listen to reason. Anyway. Light was trying to sleep, and L was continuing work, typing away at his laptop. Light started bitching at L, claiming that the light from the computer and the noise of typing was keeping him awake. L simply told Light to close his eyes, ignore the noise, and go to sleep. This resulted in Light, in his sleep-deprived state, taking a swing at L. When I asked L how that led to what happened next, he told me that although he wasn't completely sure, he thought it was probably just another way of them trying to dominate each other, and that he won.

I don't know that I really believe he won. Yagami just never seemed the type to take it up the ass for anyone, pardon my crudeness. The whole time I was in Japan, he never once gave me the impression that he would ever let L beat him, and it was obvious that he did manage to top L at least once.

This brings us to the second occurance. It was late December, and the case was apparently at a standstill. They'd been closing in on Kira at some Yotsuba company, when a fire destroyed their HQ. The killings completely stopped, and most of the team seemed at least partially convinced that Kira was finally gone. They all agreed to stay on the case, though, in case he popped back up, and L was basically forced to let Light off the handcuffs by the rest of the force around New Year's. Matsuda somehow managed to convince L to let them have a party to celebrate. I like Matsuda. He's a good guy. Funny, too.

But anyway, there was too much alcohol too early in the evening, so all memories of the night were pretty fuzzy. All that L could really tell me about that one was that he and Yagami woke up to their respective hangovers on the hallway floor, naked and sticky, and rushed off to shower and dress before any of the task members found them.

The third time...I really don't know what to think about the third time. It was late January by then, and they were still getting nowhere on the case. Yagami practically exploded when Matsuda accidentally kicked a power strip out of the wall, and all the computers crashed, then stormed out, claiming to need some air. L followed a few minutes later while the rest of the force set the computers back up, Matsuda apologizing over and over. When he reached the kitchen, L found Light leaning against the fridge, fingers pressed to his temple. He'd looked up when L walked in, and before either of them really knew what was doing, they were apparently fucking hard and fast against the counter.

I could go into more detail here, but I'd really rather forget some of the things L told me about that particular incident.

Anyway, I think I'll leave it at that for now. We can get into what happened next another day. Jeevas out!

* * *

**This is the first thing I've written in quite a while, and I'm not sure that I entirely like it, so leave me a review and tell me what you think, okay? I've got some actual inspiration to work on this, and the first actual chapter's already started and should be much longer than this little prologue, so I'll try to get an update within a week or so!**

**I don't own Death Note, and I'm not making any money off this fic.  
**


	2. 1

_February 10 2005_

L slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, blinking sleep out of his slightly gummy eyes. An annoyed glance at the clock told him it was almost seven in the morning, so the task force would start arriving in less than twenty minutes. He frowned as he shuffled to the bathroom, grabbing a fresh set of clothes along the way. He wouldn't normally bother with trivial things like clean clothes, but Light had a tendency to complain about the smell if he went for more than three days without changing.

It was really quite irritating how tired L had found himself over the past couple days. He was having trouble staying awake much past midnight, and each morning he woke up a little bit later than the day before. He had gained about a half a pound in the last week, too, and L almost wondered if he might be getting sick. He hadn't been sick since he got appendicitis when he was ten, so he couldn't quite remember exactly what it was like. _It's late, too,_ he thought as he finished his business and flushed the toilet. The detective briefly contemplated taking the day off; it wouldn't do to get sick in the middle of the investigation; but almost immediately dismissed the idea. They had spotted the first death that even might be related to Kira in months just two days ago, and L was not about to risk letting that get away for the sake of personal health.

As the day went on, L found himself more and more distracted by the curiosity of what might be wrong with him. Around noon, when the rest of the task force left for lunch, he decided it wouldn't hurt to take a quick break from the case, rather than work through the next hour. It wasn't like any of them were finding any leads, anyway, so he typed some of the symptoms he'd been noticing into a search engine. "This...cannot be right..," L mumbled, scrolling through the different results. Nearly every page he looked at was telling him that he was pregnant. L turned away from the screen and placed his finger over the button to connect his microphone to Watari's room, pausing for a moment before pressing down to collect himself. _This is most definitely going to make us both uncomfortable, _he thought before finally pushing the button. "Watari, when you go grocery shopping tonight, I need you to pick me up something in particular..."

~*~

_February 11 2005_

L crouched on the bathroom floor, staring impatiently at the counter. Three pregnancy tests were sitting on it, and still had somewhere around a minute left before they would give any results. If they came back positive...L shook the thought out of his head for the moment. He didn't think he was quite ready to deal with that possibility, even if it very well might become truth in a few short seconds.

The little timer the detective had set next to the tests beeped, and L suddenly felt very nervous. _Do I really want to know what those tests have to say? If I were to have a child, the Kira case could very well suffer for it._ He closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at the first test.

Three small plus signs ran down the length of the stick. L's breath hitched for a moment, and he quickly turned to the next one, which showed a little red heart. A feeling of dread filled the young man's gut as he looked to the results of the final test. The word 'Pregnant' lit up from its little digital screen, and L swallowed nervously, leaning against the wall.

_So,_ he thought unhappily. _I am going to have a child._ He gave a harsh chuckle at the thought. Him, a father! Or, more accurately, a mother. Whoever had thought of this sick joke really needed to get a new sense of humor. He sighed, sweeping the tests from the counter into the garbage. Pregnant or not, he needed to get to work before the others noticed he was missing.

On his way down the hallway, L paused outside one of the doors. When he'd released Light from the cuffs, the younger man had gleefully taken his own bedroom down the hall from L's. The detective wouldn't say that he quite missed the brunet's presence at night, but it had taken quite the adjustment after so long of sleeping in the same bed. L placed a nervous hand on his stomach, swallowing again. _How on Earth am I going to tell Light?_

_~*~  
_

_February 24 2005_

The next couple weeks passed without much incident. L still found himself sleeping a little bit more each night, but no new symptoms had appeared. He tried several times to tell Light about the baby, but each time found himself thwarted, whether it be by a new lead being discovered; although it almost always turned out to be false later; an unexpected visit from Misa, or even his own voice failing to put it into words. L had gone to Watari for any advice he might have, but having never had any children of his own, the older man hadn't really known what to tell him. L's last conscious thought before drifting to sleep had been that same question that had been plaguing his mind for nearly two weeks now. After what seemed like a horribly short time sleeping, L felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ryuuzaki...hey, Ryuuzaki!"

The detective opened his eyes slowly, blinking towards the one shaking him. "Light...kun?" he mumbled, sitting up.

The brunet released L's shoulder, giving him a concerned look. "Have you been feeling all right, Ryuuzaki? You've seemed kind of out of sorts lately, and it's almost seven-thirty. The rest of the force is already here, and we've all been wondering where you are. You okay?"

L nodded, standing up. "I am perfectly healthy, Light-kun. However, there is something I have been neglecting to tell you." He paused, trying to hold back a sudden wave of nausea.

At L's sudden silence, Light gave an annoyed sigh, turning away from the older man. "Are you going to tell me or not, L? Spit it out already!" L made a slight noise, and Light turned back just in time to see the detective run across the room towards his bathroom. "Ryuuzaki..?" Light paused at the highly unappealing sound of L retching, and slowly walked into the bathroom.

L was kneeling in front of the toilet with his forehead pressed against the edge of the bowl. He lifted his head briefly to look at Light before spitting into the porcelain basin and wiping his lips with a handful of toilet paper. "You call that 'perfectly healthy', Ryuuzaki?" Light asked from the doorway. "I don't think this even qualifies as slightly healthy."

The detective rinsed his mouth before turning to face the brunet. "Light-kun, I assure you there is nothing wrong with me."

"Healthy people don't go around throwing up for no reason, Ryuuzaki," Light growled, walking towards the sink. "Now either tell me how this is healthy, or admit you're sick and go back to bed."

L eyed the younger for a moment before speaking. "Light-kun wishes to know why I do not believe I am sick, so I shall tell him." He paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I realize that you probably will not believe me, Light, and possibly will even hit me, but I assure you that I am not about to lie."

Light growled, rolling his eyes. "We already went through this before you threw up, Ryuuzaki, now just say whatever it is already, okay? Kira's not going to catch himself, you know."

"I am pregnant with Light-kun's child."

The brunet blinked. "Come on, L. If you aren't going to tell me the truth, you have to at least come up with something more believable than that."

"Light-kun, please remember to call me Ryuuzaki. And I repeat, I am not lying. I am going to have a baby," L said, walking past the brunet and into his bedroom.

"You can't be pregnant, Ryuuzaki," Light barked, following the other out of the bathroom. "You aren't a woman!"

L stopped halfway to his dresser to look back at Light. "I am pregnant, Light-kun. The fact of the matter is simply that I was born with the reproductive organs of both males and females. I am what most would call a hermaphrodite." That said, he continued his journey to get clean clothes for the day.

Light stared disbelievingly as the detective pulled a fresh shirt out of the drawer. "Ryuuzaki, I think I would have noticed if you were a hermaphrodite. We slept together three times! How would I have missed something like that?"

"I have been wondering about that myself," L said, pulling the fresh shirt over his head. "I believe the only plausible explanation is that Light-kun was too focused on satisfying his basic primal needs to notice something as out of the ordinary as a man having a vagina."

"All right, Ryuuzaki. I'll play along with your little game," Light said, lightly stepping across the carpet to stand next to the detective. "I'll say you're a hermaphrodite, and I somehow didn't realize it before now, and I'll even say you're pregnant. But I do have one last hole to poke in this idea of yours." He placed a hand on L's shoulder, turning the dark-haired man to face him. "Hermaphrodites can't get pregnant, L. They're sterile. You cannot be a pregnant man."

"Again, Light-kun fails to call me by my alias, and again, he refuses to believe me," L said quietly. "I suppose there is nothing I can do as of now to truly convince him, seeing as I am neither showing yet, nor am I having any symptoms that belong solely to pregnancy. Although…" he trailed off, thinking for a moment. "Come with me, Light," he said, grabbing the brunet's hand and pulling him into the hall. "I believe that I do actually have something I can do to prove my pregnancy to you."

* * *

**That…covered a lot of time in a little chapter. I would've liked it to be a bit longer, but that's where I wanted the chapter to end at, so I'm sorry. *cower* Once the plot really gets going, they shouldn't do that anymore. It's not just gonna be nine month-long chapters, there's just very little happening in February…and March….and….April…although April ****does**** finally have some actual plot development aside from L getting new symptoms! Please be patient and keep reading….I'm sorry for my horrible amount of suck.**

**Hopefully, anybody reading this will please take the time to give me the Almighty and Glorious Review so I'll write more and faster. Although I do have to wonder…does anyone else find it easier to write when they're on the bus with random people watching them over their shoulders? Because I usually can't get ****anything**** written if someone's watching me, but on the bus…it's weird.**

**Still don't own DN, by the way.  
**


	3. 2

_February 24 2005, cont._

"Ryuuzaki, where are you taking me?" Light growled as the detective dragged him into an elevator. "I really don't think it matters what you have to show me. You aren't going to convince me that you are anything more than a horrible liar."

L ignored Light's question, choosing instead to chew on his thumb as the elevator went up several floors. When it finally stopped and opened its doors, L grabbed Light by the wrist again and immediately began pulling him down another hall. Light growled under his breath, but decided it would probably be a lot easier if he just let L do what he wanted for now.

After about ten minutes or so of walking, they finally stopped. L reached up and gently tapped his knuckles on the door they stood in front of, barely waiting two seconds before simply opening the door and dragging Light in behind him.

Light blinked as they entered the room. No lights were on, but there was an overwhelming glow coming from monitors stacked throughout the room burning his eyes. A single chair was sitting across the room, but Light couldn't make out who was sitting in it, if anyone was. _Who works in an environment like this, anyway?_ he wondered while he waited for his eyes to adjust to the lighting change. His question answered itself as Watari's voice broke the relative silence. "Ryuuzaki, Yagami-kun. Can I help you with something?"

L nodded, pulling Light farther into the room. "Light-kun seems to be rather firmly committed to the idea that I am not able to become impregnated, Watari. I realize that this conversation will most likely be both unwanted and uncomfortable, but I require your assistance in convincing Light that I am indeed carrying his child."

The older man nodded slowly. "All right, Ryuuzaki. Yagami-kun," he said, turning to face Light. "It may be a bit difficult for you to accept this, but the fact is that Ryuuzaki is going to have a baby."

Light pulled his lips into a thin line, and he gave a quick shake of his head. "I don't believe you. First of all, I know Ryuuzaki is a man. He claims to be a hermaphrodite, but if that were true, it still wouldn't change anything, because hermaphrodites do not get pregnant. The testosterone in their body overrides the estrogen, and they are left sterile." He glanced at the raven-haired detective for a moment before continuing. "Furthermore, if it were possible for men to give birth, even if they did have both sexual organs, there would've been something about it in the news by now, don't you think?"

"Do I really seem like the type to allow the media to print that kind of story about myself, Light-kun?" L asked, nibbling on his thumb. "I never realized."

"Yagami-kun, it is true that most hermaphrodites-"

"All," Light cut in.

"…That most hermaphrodites are sterile, but you must agree with me that Ryuuzaki has never been one to conform to what the world defines as normal."

Light was silent for a moment. "Watari…a person can't just decide they're going to be a pregnant man. The body doesn't work that way!"

"I never made the choice to be what I am, Light-kun," L said quietly, staring at the brunet. "My body simply works in a very unique way. While most hermaphrodites have their menstrual cycles and such canceled out by the testosterone produced by their bodies, mine is not. I am able to become pregnant and give birth the same as any woman on the planet. I simply have the outer appearance of a male."

"Ryuuzaki…" Light trailed off, a look of utter confusion on his face. "I…" He stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I still find it difficult to believe I could have missed you having…having a…"

"A what, Light-kun?"

Light's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he looked away from the detective. "A vagina," he mumbled quickly, trying to get the word out of his mouth as fast as possible.

L nodded. "Well, that is much easier to convince you of than the fact of my pregnancy. Come along," he said, grabbing Light's wrist and pulling him back into the hallway. "Thank you for your help, Watari," he called over his shoulder as he dragged Light towards the bathroom.

o0O0o0O0o

Matsuda sighed, shoving a stack of papers across his desk. It was almost eight o'clock now, and there was still no sign of Light or Ryuuzaki. He frowned, looking towards the hallway leading to the elevators. "I hope Ryuuzaki's okay," he mumbled, propping his chin up on one arm.

"I'm sure he's fine, Matsuda," Soichiro assured the younger man, placing a fresh stack of papers on the desk. "He's probably just finally overworked himself."

"Shouldn't Light-kun have come back yet, though? He's been gone for over half an hour," Matsuda asked worriedly.

"I suppose you do have a point there, Matsuda. I'll go check on them." Soichiro grunted, but before he was able to take even a single step, the two missing men quietly walked into the room.

"I apologize for my lateness, everyone," L called out as he sat down at his computer. "I was feeling a bit ill this morning, but am much better now. Please do not allow this to distract you from work."

Light just gave a quick nod. From the look on his face, Matsuda couldn't help but think he'd seen something slightly traumatizing, but he couldn't think what it might have been. _Oh, well. Everyone's here now, and everything's right with the world,_ Matsuda thought happily, and went back to looking through his papers.

~*~

_March 6 2005_

Light stared silently at his computer screen. It had been a week and a half since L had told him about the baby, but it still hadn't quite sunk in yet. The nineteen-year-old was still hoping this would turn out to be some kind of horrible joke, or some twisted plan of L's to make him confess to being Kira.

Even if L really was pregnant, why hadn't he done something about it? What would the greatest detective in the world want with a child, anyway? Was it some kind of moral issue, or one of his ideas of justice that kept him from simply terminating the pregnancy? Neither of them would have to deal with it that way.

Not that Light really wanted L to get an abortion, though. He didn't think it seemed completely fair to deny the baby life just because they didn't want it. He just didn't know if he could believe that L was going to have a baby if he hadn't even considered getting rid of it.

Although…he had told Light about it without waiting until he simply couldn't hide it anymore. Maybe this was some sign that he wanted to give Light a chance to take the baby, or even that he wanted to form a little family and raise the child together. The brunet had a bit of difficulty suppressing a shudder at that thought. He really didn't think he would be able to survive living with L for too much longer, let alone marrying him, or being his domestic partner, or whatever he'd be called wherever it was that L came from.

Light didn't see what he could even do at this point. He couldn't tell L to keep the baby, because no matter how much he said it wouldn't be fair to kill it, or that he wanted to raise it and be a daddy, L would say he was just trying to give him something to take his attention away from the case. That would probably raise the percentage of him being Kira by about twenty percent. And of course, Light couldn't suggest that L get rid of the baby, either, because killing an innocent little baby would seem too hostile, and L would raise his percentage of being Kira anyway.

A sudden hand on Light's shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see L standing being him. "Light-kun, the force will be here soon. I believe it would be in your best interest to focus on catching Kira, lest the others think something has happened."

The brunet narrowed his eyes, and was about to remind L of exactly what had happened, perhaps with a fist thrown into the story, when the door opened and several force members walked in.

"You guys might want to clear the room for a while when Matsuda gets in here," Aizawa grumbled, rubbing at his nose.

Light blinked, looking to his dad. "Why?"

Soichiro sighed, sniffing a little. "He smells as though he took a bath in his cologne this morning. Said that he dropped the bottle on the counter, and it spilled all down his suit."

"Then why didn't he just change before he left?" Light asked as the door opened again, and a horribly strong scent filled the room.

"I didn't have time to, Light-kun!" Matsuda explained unhappily, standing in the doorway. "I was already running late, and it had soaked through my clothes. I would've needed another shower to get it all out." He gave a sheepish smile, closing the door. "We can open a window, and the smell should be gone in a while." The dark-haired man blinked, looking across the room. "Ryuuzaki, are you okay?"

The rest of the force turned to see L turned away from his computer, nose scrunched up and a hand over his mouth. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, jumped out of his chair, and raced down the hall to the bathroom.

Light sighed, following after the pregnant detective. "Stay here, everyone. I'll make sure he's okay." He paused at the hallway, turning back to Matsuda. "And set up some fans to get the smell in here gone faster."

L was flushing the toilet when Light reached the bathroom, and he turned to face the brunet, leaning on the counter. "Hello, Light-kun."

"I thought morning sickness hits right after Mommy-to-be wakes up," Light said with a frown.

"That is not entirely true, Light-kun. Morning sickness does normally occur at that time, but it can happen at any time in the day, sometimes more than once in a single day." He paused to rinse his mouth out. "It can be caused by many different things, as well. A lack of food in the stomach is believed to be the main reason it usually occurs upon waking, but it can also be triggered by certain smells," he said, a bit of annoyance and humor both evident in his voice.

"Well, I'm going to go get some work done. I'll get you when the smell's cleared out some," Light said, slipping back into the hallway.

L nodded. "Thank you, Light-kun. I will work from my bedroom until then."

When Light got back to the main room, Matsuda immediately pounced on him. "Is Ryuuzaki okay? He's sick, isn't he? Is it serious? I mean, he was sleeping a lot before, I don't know if he still is or not, but now he's throwing up, and I-"

"Matsuda," Light interrupted, placing a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Calm down. I think your cologne just set him off. He's not usually around other people, and you've never come in after practically swimming in that stuff before. His nose is probably just a little sensitive to that much smell."

"Oh," Matsuda said, blushing a little. "So…you're sure he's okay?" Light nodded. "Is he gonna be coming back out today?"

"He said he'd work from his laptop until the smell's gone. I'll get him around lunchtime, now let's get to work."

* * *

**  
Well, now, that's more like it! Still fairly short, but it only covered a day and a half. This is the pace I really want to keep this story at. If I can keep it up, this should probably be something around 20-25 chapters, although there is some more stuff I want to squeeze in, so possibly longer.**

**If anyone's wondering why the whole force arrived together…I don't know, maybe they all go to Denny's for breakfast on Sundays or something. March 6 was on a Sunday in 05, too. I had that thought when I wrote the scene, then I checked my computer clock because I wanted to know what day it really was. :grin: Anywho! See that big, pretty green button? If you click it, you'll get to join these guys down here next chapter!**

**The Reviewers! They Really Do Exist!  
**

**angstkitten: Nee-nee, I'm not writing pr0n at this point. I don't even know if there'll be any in here! And I really don't think I'm the best at writing L; it probably isn't that hard to find someone who kicks my ass at it...**

**littleone4u: I'm glad you like it, but I really don't think there'll be any mushy stuff for the boys. This actually started out as a challenge to myself to write a multi-chap without letting them actually fall in love with each other. Hope to get more reviews from you!**

**Hybrid-Sunshine: Here's the update, and with more morning sickness, too! I spoil you people.**

**Xandra: Glad you like it. I'll definitely keep working and trying to keep from making you guys wait too long for updates!  
**


	4. 3

_March 17 2005_

"Ryuuzaki, we need to talk."

L glanced up from his cake, and saw Light standing less than two feet from his chair. "Light-kun has decided to stay at headquarters through lunch break just to talk to me. It must be serious if he will forgo getting outside for a while," he said, poking a forkful of cake into his mouth.

The brunet pulled his chair over, and sat down. "What are you going to do about the baby?"

Straight to the point. The detective swallowed his cake, thinking for a moment. "Does this mean Light-kun finally accepts my pregnancy?" Light nodded slowly. "What does Light-kun want me to do with it? It is his child as well, after all."

Light slowly sighed. He'd spent the last week deciding what he would say if L even bothered asking him, and he was pretty sure he could make it out of this without being tied to Kira. "I don't know, Ryuuzaki. I'm only nineteen. I don't know if I would make a good father or not, but it doesn't seem fair to kill an innocent baby that's never done anything wrong." He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "Really, it's up to you. It is your body, after all, and I won't try to fight you on whatever you decide to do."

L was quiet for a moment, thinking over what Light had said. "So Light believes it is not right to kill a child simply because it has not done anything to warrant it. Does this mean that, if the baby had somehow already done something wrong, he thinks that it should die?"

The brunet sucked a harsh breath in through his nose. "That is not what I said. I know what you're thinking, L, and I swear, if you even try to somehow link me to Kira from this-"

"And again, Light-kun fails to call me by my alias," L interrupted. "Up two percent." He popped the strawberry from his cake into his mouth, smiling slightly at the taste.

Light clenched his jaw, trying his absolute hardest to keep from punching a pregnant man. _Think happy thoughts…Matsuda slipping on a patch of ice…Misa jumping off a bridge…L falling down a flight of stairs…maybe losing the baby, while he's at it…_ He blinked in surprise. Had his thoughts always been this violent? Oh, well. He'd worry about that later. "Well, you need to decide soon, Ryuuzaki. The rest of the force is going to catch on before very long."

"Catch on to what?"

L turned, and saw that the others hadn't left the building yet. They'd just been outside the room, and Light's father was waiting for an answer to his question. _Light-kun probably planned this so they would overhear us talking about the baby, and I would be forced to tell them. That is rather cruel of him,_ L thought, placing a thumb at his lip. _Oh, well. Two can play this game._ "Light-kun and I were merely considering when the best time would be to tell you we have been engaging in a sexual relationship." He turned to Light, laughing inwardly at the look on the brunet's normally composed face. "I suppose you are right, Light-kun. There really is no time like the present." He smiled slightly as he realized Light's face was nearly mirrored by the expression on Soichiro's own face. "You should go have lunch with your father, Light. I am sure you two have plenty to talk about." That said, he turned away from the task force to switch on the microphone leading to Watari's room. "Watari, I have something of utmost importance to discuss with you. Please meet me in the kitchen in ten minutes." L stood up, nodded to the force, and walked calmly towards the bathroom.

Light turned, nervously looking at his father. Soichiro was silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "I think a talk over lunch sounds like a good idea, Light," he said, motioning for his son to follow him out of the building.

_L, you __bastard__._

o0O0o0O0o

"Ryuuzaki, what did you need me for?" Watari asked, catching sight of the younger man at the small island in the middle of the kitchen.

L looked up from his quandary of whether he was more in the mood for a doughnut or an apple. It was quite the odd dilemma; he'd certainly never debated over the choice of a sweet, sugary treat or fruit before. "I have come to a decision, Watari," he said, deciding on the doughnut. "This will be my last case. I highly doubt any case after this one will be enough to hold my attention, and I would also like to focus on raising my child when he or she comes along." He took a large bite, chewing happily. Yes, this had been the right choice.

The older man nodded. "Does this mean you've chosen your successor?"

"Yes," the detective said, swallowing the last of his doughnut. He frowned slightly at the realization that he'd eaten it so quickly, and decided he'd like to eat the apple as well. "You expect me to name either Near or Mello as my heir, correct?" He paused, biting into the fruit, as Watari nodded again. "Well, I will not. I believe that Matt will make an excellent L."

Watari blinked in surprise. "Are you quite sure, sir? Matt isn't the most motivated child in the world by far, and the academic gap between he and Mello is much larger than that between Mello and Near."

"I am certain, Watari," L responded, crunching into his apple again. Some juice squirted out, running down his chin and dripping onto his shirt. He licked off what was on his face before continuing to talk. "I believe that Matt has been hiding much of his abilities for the sake of Mello. If he is told he will take on the name of L, I think he may be able to surpass Near with little trouble. Also, he seems to be the most able to care for himself, and I feel it is important for future generations to be more self-sufficient that past ones."

Watari smiled to himself. "All right, then. I will contact Roger and have him tell the children," he said, and left the room.

L took another bite of his apple, rubbing at the juice he'd dribbled onto his chest. A slight twinge of pain shot through him at the touch, and he looked down at his chest in surprise. He placed his hand against it again, and felt a bit of discomfort. Was a more sensitive chest something that came along with pregnancy? Uncertainty washed over him as he realized just how little he really knew about his condition. What all was he supposed to expect over the next several months? He knew the obvious signs of pregnancy, but he really knew nothing of the details. L nibbled at his apple, realizing with more than a touch of nervousness that he would definitely need to be looking up some more information on pregnancy.

* * *

**Graaah. Short chapter is short, and I suck for it. Sorry for the wait between updates! I place all the blame on my soon-to-be-mine kitty, Stu. I've been visiting him at a friend's house almost every day, and had nothing but him on my mind for the past week, so I haven't been writing much, and I'm still not particularly happy with this chapter…Blargh. Oh, well. At least I'm giving you something to show I'm still alive!  
I'm gonna try and post the next chapter on the 17****th**** so I can brag about it being my birthday and all that crap, so don't expect anything before then, but don't be too surprised if I end up posting late, anyway.  
Oh yeah! Almost forgot! In the coming chapters, Matt will occasionally be interrupting the flow of the story to put in his two cents, so if you guys see something written in first person that isn't bold, that's him, not an author's note. Don't wanna confuse anybody, so I thought I'd tell you now rather than later. Lemme know what you thought of this chapter, okay? Till next time!**

**Reviewers Are The Best People In Existence! Yay!**

**Xandra: Again, glad you like it, and I'm sorry for another short chapter! Have a cookie. :cookies:  
**

**Hybrid-Sunshine: Yay manly morning sickness!! Such fun to inflict pain on poor L like this. Teehee.  
**

**angstkitten: Less-than-threeeeeee, nene!  
**

**littleone4u: ^^ Glad to be entertaining, and I know how the romantic side can be. It hits me every once in a while, too!  
**


	5. 4

Well, folks, this is where the story should start getting interesting. Why, you ask? Well, first of all, I'm gonna be around from now on, not to mention that some exciting stuff is gonna start up, too. I'd explain in more detail, but…y'know…it's my story, and if I start telling things out of order, it's just going to get too confusing, so just wait a bit, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Okay? Good.

~*~

_April 15 2005_

L sighed, twisting his head to press against his left shoulder in a failing attempt to crack his neck. It had been sore and stiff all morning, and he really had no one to blame but himself. As his pregnancy wore on, it was only to be expected that he wouldn't be able to keep up his old habits without some protesting from his body. He supposed this ache was a sign that staying up hunched over a laptop until he simply couldn't keep his eyes open any longer probably wasn't a good idea anymore.

Not that it was a particularly good idea in the first place; even if that bit of knowledge had never stopped him before.

But still. L's neck was in quite a good amount of pain, and he would like nothing more right now than a good massage. Unfortunately, that was not an option, seeing as it was both the middle of the day, and L highly doubted anyone on the task force even knew how to give massages. He also had a headache. It had started out as a dull throb a few hours earlier, but the detective had neglected to pay it any mind, and it was now a very distracting pounding in his right temple. L wasn't sure that much of anything could really occur to put him in a worse mood at the moment.

"Liiiiiiiight!"

L cringed at the high-pitched shriek, mentally berating himself. Something could always make things worse, and inevitably would if one thought they couldn't.

Light grunted as Misa threw her arms around his neck, happily snuggling his cheek. "Misa-Misa's missed you, Light! She's been so busy with photo shoots, and you've been trying so hard to find Kira! We haven't gone on a date in so, so long!" The blonde giggled happily, kissing the corner of Light's mouth. "But Misa finally got some time off today, so she decided to pay you a surprise visit!"

"Unfortunately, Amane-san, Light-kun and I are busy at the moment. We have found no leads on Kira for several months now, and will need to continue devoting all our time to looking for one. I am afraid that you will have to wait for another day to spend time together," L said rather tiredly, rubbing his forehead.

Misa blinked, looking a bit surprised. "So Kira's not in Aoyama, then?"

Light pried the girl off, looking at her curiously. "What makes you think he would be? Nothing's been said on the news about criminals dying around there."

"Well, they're not," Misa started slowly, leaning against the computer desk. "But a lot of normal people are, so Misa thought maybe Kira changed his mind about who he wanted to kill."

"Why have we not heard anything about this, Amane-san?" L asked, popping a strawberry into his mouth. Glancing at the bowl, he frowned at the realization that he only had two left. He'd have to get himself some more. "We have been listening for any rumors of Kira, but this is the first I have heard about Aoyama."

The model made a happy-sounding noise, clapping her hands together. "Well, most reporters don't think it's Kira. Most of the deaths aren't heart attacks."

"Why do you think it is Kira, then?" Light asked, opening a search engine on his computer.

Misa smiled, clearly pleased to be possibly contributing to the case. "Well, it just seems weird that so many people are dying all at once. It's gotten so bad Misa won't go there, even for work! She actually had a shoot scheduled this afternoon, but told her manager that she would much rather miss a day of work than risk getting killed."

Light blinked, turning from his screen to stare at L. "Ryuuzaki, look at this." L rolled his chair so he could peek over Light's shoulder. The brunet clicked a link from his search results, and started reading. "'The mortality rate in Aoyama has skyrocketed in the past two months. An unprecedented rise in accident, disease, and suicide rates have led many people to believe that the city has fallen victim to some sort of curse. Authorities believe that these mysterious deaths may be linkable to some sort of gas leak that may be causing illness and possible loss of sanity, although it has yet to be confirmed.' Even if it doesn't turn out to be Kira, this is pretty big. How on earth did we miss this?"

"I suppose we may have actually been a bit too focused on Kira. We have been neglecting to pay any attention to news reports which do not mention him." L sighed, eating another strawberry. "This may or may not be Kira's doing, but it does look to be the most promising lead we have had in some time. I only wish we had noticed it sooner."

"Um…a-actually, I…I did know about it."

Light turned, glaring across the room. "Matsuda, if you knew about this, then why didn't you tell us about it earlier?" he snapped angrily.

Matsuda flinched at the angry tone. "I-I didn't think it seemed important! Kira kills criminals, and most of the people dying in Aoyama haven't had any criminal records."

L swallowed his last strawberry before turning to face the other man. "Matsuda-san, for future reference, if you should notice anything as out of the ordinary as this, please inform either Light-kun or myself." Matsuda nodded unhappily, and L stood up and started for the kitchen. Misa glanced at Matsuda, giggling at the dejected look on his face, and followed L out of the room.

The blonde watched L as he bent into the fridge, digging for something. "Can you please get Misa an apple, Ryuuzaki?"

The detective paused his hunt to hand over the fruit. He smiled slightly, seeing his prize nestled in the drawer next to the apples, and pulled it out along with a shiny, red apple. He gave it to Misa, and happily popped a fresh strawberry into his mouth.

The two ate quietly for several moments. L was a bit unnerved by the other, who was staring at his stomach. He couldn't be showing yet, so Misa probably didn't suspect anything. But why else would she be looking there?

"Ryuuzaki?" The model's voice broke L out of his thoughts, and he turned his attention back to her. He nodded slightly, indicating for her to go on. "Your shirt doesn't look as baggy as usual. Did you gain some weight?"

L was silent for a moment. Apparently, he was showing, if only a little. He supposed it was to be expected, with how thin he normally was. He ate another strawberry, giving another small nod. "I suppose I have gained a few pounds," he murmured around the fruit.

Misa sat her apple on the counter, reaching over to touch his stomach. "Let Misa feel! She knows some diets that you could try, but she needs to know where the fat's settling so she can choose the best one for you," the blonde said happily, and before L could object, she'd slipped a hand up under his shirt and was gently pressing on his belly. "This feels pretty firm for belly fat," she said quietly, moving her hand around the skin. L hurriedly suppressed a giggle that threatened to pop out of his throat at the unfamiliar sensation, and tried to step away from the prying hand.

"Amane-san, I am not entirely comfortable with this."

Misa grabbed L's wrist, pulling him back towards her. "Oh, come on, Ryuuzaki! Let Misa help you!"

L pulled his arm out of the lolita-clad girl's grip, taking several steps away. "I do not require your help, Amane-san. My weight is perfectly healthy, I am not interested in any diet you may wish to show me, and you are out of line in continuing to touch me when I have already stated that I am not comfortable with it!" he snapped, glaring at the blonde.

Misa blinked. She'd never seen Ryuuzaki show that much emotion to anyone besides occasionally Light, and had actually thought he probably couldn't. "Misa is sorry," she said quietly, picking her apple back up. "She just wanted to help."

"That is all right, Amane-san," L said, no trace of the anger he'd shown moments before left in his voice. "Simply refrain from any unnecessary touching in the future, if you would." He was quiet for a moment, and seemed to be thinking about something. Misa smiled, glad that he wasn't too mad at her, and asked what he was thinking about. "I was just wondering if there were any pickles left in the refrigerator, or if Light-kun has eaten them all."

Misa giggled. "Ryuuzaki, you're being so weird today! Misa didn't even think you liked pickles, only sweet things."

"I suppose it is just a passing craving," L said, gazing sadly at the empty pickle jar he'd just spied sitting in the sink.

The blonde smiled, crossing the room to throw away her apple core. "If Misa didn't know better, she might think you were pregnant, Ryuuzaki!"

"...Why would Amane-san think that?"

Misa turned back to look at the detective, and was surprised to see that he looked rather distressed. "Well, Misa's seen more moods from you in the ten minutes she's been here today than she can remember ever seeing before. Misa doesn't think she's ever seen you even think about eating something other than cake or strawberries before, either, and you almost looked like you wanted to cry when you saw that the pickles were gone." She tilted her head to the side, placing a finger against the corner of her mouth and studying his stomach again. "Plus, there's the weight gain. Misa had a friend one time who was about the same size as you, only shorter, and she got pregnant from Misa's boyfriend." She scowled at the memory. "We're not friends anymore. Anyway, after she'd been pregnant for a couple months, she gained about as much weight as Misa thinks you probably have, Ryuuzaki. Plus, your tummy's all firm like hers was!"

L frowned, placing a hand on his stomach. Had he really been that obvious? He knew Light didn't feel ready to tell the force yet, and they'd come to the agreement that they would tell them at the beginning of May. He thought he'd been doing an acceptable job of hiding his pregnancy, but apparently, he had not, if Misa had figured it out. He sighed inwardly, deciding that as long as he could keep her quiet for now, he may as well tell her the truth. She'd find out eventually, with how often she came to hang off of Light. "You have better deductive skills than I thought, Amane-san."

Misa blinked. "What?" she said quietly, watching L gently rub his stomach.

The detective lifted his shirt a little, showing the slight bump more fully. "I am indeed pregnant." He dropped his shirt back down when the blonde reached out to touch it again.

"But...you're a man, Ryuuzaki. Misa doesn't understand." She frowned. "If this is some kind of joke-"

"It's not a joke, Misa," Light said, walking into the kitchen. "He really is pregnant."

The blonde looked confusedly from one man to the other. "But..."

"I am a hermaphrodite, Amane-san," L said, reaching over to grab another handful of strawberries. "My body is one of a kind in the fact that it can support another human life within itself while still having an almost entirely male physical make-up."

"So...why does Light know?" Misa asked, staring at L's stomach even more intently than she had before. The detective took a step back for his own protection; there was a 79% chance that Misa was going to attempt to touch him again.

Light thought quickly. He didn't want to tell Misa it was his baby; she'd go nuts! "He needed someone to tell, Misa. He'd been sleeping late, morning sickness was kicking in, and he just needed someone to help cover for him until he felt ready to tell the rest of the force."

The blonde nodded, surprising L with her willingness to just accept this. He supposed the surprise was probably due to a mix of her slight gullibility and how hard it was to convince Light, and stuck another berry into his mouth. "Whose baby is it?"

The fruit suddenly shot down L's throat, and it took several moments and several smacks on the back from Light to get it loose again. "What was your question again, Amane-san?" he asked when he could breath again.

"Misa asked who got you pregnant," she repeated, taking advantage of L's recent choking fit to try and touch his stomach again.

The detective stepped out of her reach, frowning. "I am afraid that is classified information. I would like to keep it to myself for the time being."

Misa gave a quiet, "Aww,", dropping her hand back to her side. "Okay. Misa's gonna go out with Light for a while now, okay Ryuuzaki?" she said, latching onto the brunet's arm.

Light sighed. "I can't go out, Misa. This information you gave us about Aoyama is the closest thing we've had to an actual lead in a long time, and I need to look into it."

The blonde's face fell, and L smiled to himself. "Actually, Light-kun, I believe it would be good for you to accompany Amane-san into town. I will be fine looking into this lead myself for a single afternoon." He ate his last strawberry, ignoring the dirty look Light threw at him while Misa cheered happily.

"Isn't this great, Light? Now we can go out! Come on, Misa wants to go shopping, then have lunch. Ooh! Then we can do some more shopping, then dinner!" the blonde squealed happily, pulling her reluctant boyfriend out of the building.

Before L could leave the kitchen and get back to work, the door opened again, and Matsuda walked in, holding L's laptop. "Um, Watari said you have a call from Winchester and asked if I could give this to you," he mumbled, holding the computer out.

The detective took the laptop and sat it on the counter. "Thank you, Matsuda," he said, watching the other start to leave. "It is perfectly all right to make mistakes, you know. I do not think any less of you simply because you did not tell us what you had heard of Aoyama."

Matsuda stopped, turning back. "But I make so many," he said quietly. "You and the chief and Light never screw up like I do."

L's gaze flicked to his stomach for a moment, and he gave Matsuda a very small smile. "Trust me, I have made my share of mistakes, Matsuda." He turned to the laptop, then spoke again. "And from the look that was on Aizawa-san's face while Amane-san was telling us of Aoyama, I believe there is a 92% chance that he also knew of it."

Matsuda blinked, clearly surprised at the impromptu pep talk, and smiled. "Thanks, Ryuuzaki," he said. "I'm gonna get back to work."

L nodded, and waited for the other man to be out of the room before turning his attention to the laptop. He turned on his voice scrambler, just to be safe, and sent the call through. "This is L."

"L, this is Roger. There's a bit of a situation here at the House."

"What is it?" L was used to these kinds of calls. It was a fairly common occurrence for the children at Wammy's to get into fights with one another, and it was not unusual for the fights to escalate to the point that Roger would call L for advice on the children's punishments.

"When Watari contacted us so we could inform Matt that you had chosen him, the boy didn't take the warning of keeping the selection to himself quite as seriously as we would have hoped."

L nodded to himself. It had been agreed upon shortly after the incidents with A and B that it would be for the best if the children were to be told when L selected his heir, but not be given a name to take their anger out on due to the instability both boys had shown. "Go on."

"Mello apparently asked him only days after the choice was made. He sent Matt to the infirmary with a black eye and a bloody nose."

"Roger, it was nearly a month ago that I selected Matt. If that were all that happened, you would not be contacting me."

The voice from the computer sighed. "True. There was another occurrence of Mello showing his displeasure towards Matt about two weeks ago."

"Roger," the detective interrupted. "If something more occurred, why am I only be notified now?"

The other man was silent for a moment. "We thought it would be best if Matt explained what happened to you himself, but he hasn't been willing to even tell us all the details until just this morning. We weren't even sure who attacked him until yesterday."

"It was Mello who hit him first, was it not? Why was he not immediately suspected? He is the most likely culprit for a repeat of his initial attack, even if the two are such good friends as they seem to be."

"Well, we were unsure of whether either of the boys had told anyone else that you chose him or not. If word had gotten out, it could have been almost any child in the House." Roger sighed again before continuing. "But yes, it was Mello who initiated the second fight as well." He paused. "Although, considering the fact that he came away with no injuries, I suppose it was really more of a beating than a fight. We probably never would have gotten Matt to tell us who attacked him if Mello hadn't come to visit him yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" L asked, glad the scrambler would mask the worry in his voice. How bad a beating had Mello given the other boy if Matt was still in the infirmary after two weeks?

"Mello attacked Matt again. It all happened quite fast, really. One moment, Mello was sitting next to Matt's bed. They were talking, and seemed to be getting along perfectly fine. The next moment, Matt was screaming, and Mello was biting him in the neck. He left quite a nasty wound."

L was silent for several moments. He'd always thought the blond seemed a bit unstable; he almost reminded the detective of B when he was younger; and that was one reason he had decided not to choose the boy. "Is it safe for me to assume that he is now willing to talk, if you are calling me, Roger?"

"Yes. Are you busy at the moment, or would you like to talk to him now?"

"Now, please."

* * *

**Oh, yeah baby! Now ****this**** is more like it. I am so much happier with this chapter than the last one, both lengthwise and with the content. And I know, I said I'd update on the 17th, but it's eleven o'clock now, and I don't know if I'll have time to get this up before I have to leave tomorrow morning, so I'm just posting now. Enjoy!  
A quick note: For the purposes of this story, I'm guessing that it's set somewhere near Aoyama. Light and Matsuda did go there, after all. If anyone knows for sure where they're at, please, feel free to tell me!  
I had fun writing Misa in this, too. It's the first time I've ever gotten to really try with her. I might write her and Light's date in the next chapter, but I'm not making any promises; it depends on if I get the inspiration to do it. :grin:**

**Anyways…it's my birthday in an hour!! :dances: Leave me reviews as presents! Especially you people who've been adding this to their alerts, but not leaving me any feedback whatsoever. Even if it's just something like, 'Great work, keep it up!', drop a review before you go, okay? I know it's easier to just not say anything, and I'm just as guilty of doing it as you guys are, but if we work together to break the habit, I know we can do it!**

**Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter, and enjoy a piece of birthday cake on your way out! :sets cake out:**

**Reply! I'm a Review Reply! And I Dance, Dance, Dance And I Dance, Dance, Dance!**

**Hybrid-Sunshine****: Yeah...it was short...=.= And the bastardness is precisely why I write this!  
**

**angstkitten: Five times? Really? Well, get used to reading it once before I post from now on! Geez...did I seriously have you read that five times??  
**

**C Elise: Thanks! Keep reviewing. :grin:  
**


	6. 5

**Quick pre-story note!! Forgot to mention this before, or even make any mention of language differences whatsoever, but when they're speaking English from now on, it'll be **_**"Like this, not to be confused with thoughts." 'They're like this.'**_** Okay? Okay. Good.

* * *

**

_April 15, cont._

L was silent as he waited for Roger to get Matt on the line, unsure of what to do about all this. Mello would certainly have to be punished, probably beyond what he'd ever been before, and it would most likely be wise to have Matt leave Whammy's. But where could L send him? He didn't believe the boy had taken any Japanese courses; in fact, L wasn't sure that the boy had learned any foreign languages at all aside from sign language. Unless L was mistaken, the House in Winchester was the only one Watari had set up in any English-speaking countries. He would have to suggest that Watari open another the next time he saw him. _'Perhaps I should have him come to stay with the task force and myself,'_ he thought, rubbing a thumb against his lip. _'I do not know where else he could go, and he would be able to gain some hands-on experience helping with the case.'_

"L, I'm putting Matt on now."

The detective brought his attention back to the computer. "Thank you, Roger."

The room was silent for a moment before a quiet voice spoke up. _"L?"_

_"Hello, Matt. I hear Mello has not been treating you well lately."_

Matt gave a rather forced laugh. _"You heard right."_

_"Would you care to tell me exactly what happened?"_

The teen paused. L waited for a moment; he was sure it couldn't be easy for Matt to actually put into words what his best friend had done. _"...I told him that you chose me as your heir. I know Roger said not to tell anyone, but I never thought Mello would take it as badly as he did cuz it was me, and he was gonna go after Near. The kid never did anything to Mello, and I thought Mello might actually kill him if he got to him, so...I just kinda panicked and told him it was me."_ He paused again, and L encouraged him to go on. _"He punched me in the face, yelled at me, and stormed out. I figured he'd probably go beat up some of the younger kids to get out the rest of his frustration, and that'd be that."_

_"Clearly it was not, Matt. Can you tell me what happened two weeks ago?"_

_"How'd you know-"_ Matt started, sounding surprised. _"Oh, wait. Duh, Roger probably told you."_

_"He did tell me that Mello attacked you again, but he did not tell me what happened, although I believe you still have not told him. He failed to mention what injuries you sustained as well. Will you tell me?"_

_"Yeah."_ The boy sighed, and L could nearly see him run a hand through his hair. It was a habit he had noticed the redhead develop when he was remembering something particularly painful. _"Mello completely avoided me for a while, and I figured our friendship was pretty much screwed. Then on the first, he came over to talk to me, asked if I wanted to play football with him and the guys. We had a lot of fun that day, L; it was almost like before you chose me."_

L flinched slightly at that. He was certain that if he hadn't needed an heir, this would not have happened.

_"After dinner, he said he wanted to show me something, and we went around to the back yard. I asked what he wanted to show me, and he said 'Nothing'. So I asked why he even brought me out there, and he said..."_ Matt's voice broke for a moment, and he was quiet for almost a full minute. _"He said, 'April Fool's, L', and punched me in the gut. Really hard, too, I couldn't breathe for a few seconds, and by the time I could, Mello had knocked me to the ground, and was just pounding his fist into my face. I tried to kick him off, but I couldn't get my leg up enough, and he shoved his knee into me."_ Matt stopped again, clearly trying to control his emotions. _"That hurt enough it almost made me puke. Then he grabbed my hand, and started bending it back, and he was still punching me, too. I blacked out a little later, and woke up in the infirmary. Roger said some of the older kids found me and brought me in."_ Matt was silent for several minutes, and when he finally spoke again, he sounded very close to tears. _"Did Roger tell you about when Mello visited me?"_

_"Yes, Matt. You do not have to tell me any more,"_ L said, with a quiet sigh. The teen clearly hadn't been expecting an attack of this magnitude, and certainly not from the one boy he'd always stuck so close to. He would definitely have to get either Matt or Mello away from Whammy's, and it would be beneficial for Matt to see what exactly L did in his work. _"Matt, will you allow me to ask you something?"_

Matt sniffed loudly, and L was sure he was probably rubbing his nose against his sleeve. _"Sure thing, L."_

_"How would you feel about coming to Japan?"_

o0O0o0O0o

"Have we done enough shopping yet, Misa?"

The blonde turned, smiling happily at her boyfriend. "Are you getting tired, Light? Misa-Misa's surprised at you. Matsuda could carry twice the bags you have when he was Misa's manager!"

Light stared at Misa in horror, turning his gaze to the multitude of bags in his hands. "Where did he carry it all?" he mumbled to himself. "Misa, please. Let's just go get some dinner and go back to headquarters."

"Okay," the model said with a sigh. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Somewhere cheap, preferably," the brunet responded, thinking sadly of the money Misa's shopping had murdered on his credit card. Honestly, she could afford to buy all this herself, couldn't she? She was a model, after all. They got paid a lot. Light was almost ready to tell Misa to pay for dinner, but his pride just wouldn't let him take that final fall.

Misa nodded happily, not seeming to have even listened to her boyfriend's answer. "Let's go here, Light!" she squealed, pulling them into the first restaurant they passed. Light gave an annoyed groan; the decor absolutely screamed expensive.

After they had been seated, Misa smiled as she watched Light sit her bags down over her menu. This had been a really good date; she'd gotten lots of new clothes and make-up. She'd even gotten some new lingerie that she just couldn't wait to show Light, because if this skimpy little lace thing couldn't get his attention, she was sure nothing ever would. "How've you been, Light?" she asked. A conversation sounded good right about now. "Misa hasn't gotten to really talk to you in so long."

The brunet sighed, flipping open his menu. "I've been fine, Misa. You really did help us out earlier with that tip about Aoyama, though. We've been stuck for months."

The pair fell into silence then; Light looking through his menu and Misa retreating into her thoughts. The blonde wasn't entirely sure how she felt about telling L about Aoyama. She knew that Shinigami(Rem, wasn't it?), had told her before, just before Higuchi died, that catching the current Kira was part of Light's plan, so she wanted to go along with it now, but at the same time she just wasn't sure that she should. She was happy that Light was Kira, really she was, but sometimes she had her doubts. He'd been so much nicer to her since he lost his memories than he ever was before, and besides, Misa wasn't raised to be a murderer. Her mother had been from America, a foreign beauty who had passed all her looks to her daughter. She'd been a good woman, and while she had been very accepting of her husband's beliefs, she had done her best to raise Misa with at least some Christian beliefs. Misa had taken to them quite well, and even now, as much as she loved Kira and wanted to help him, she still had to wonder sometimes if what he was doing was right. She would stay up all night sometimes, asking herself _'Is it really right to kill all those people? I know they did wrong, and they need to be punished. The law systems aren't working properly, or they wouldn't keep doing these things, but is it really __right__ to just slaughter them?'_ Then, as it neared three in the morning, and she told herself she needed to get some sleep, or she'd look horrible at her shoot tomorrow, Misa would tell herself that it was right. It had to be right, because Rem had told her she'd shared Kira's power for a time; that she'd killed criminals, too. And if Misa had done that, and it wasn't right; if it was wrong, then she would almost certainly go to Hell when she died, and Misa just couldn't even think about such a thing.

And Kira...Misa did love Kira, but sometimes she thought she might actually love Light more. She was thankful to Kira, and he had such a pretty face, but when he talks to Misa, he treats her like she couldn't find water in a bathtub. Light isn't quite so degrading to her; he's able to see that she's at least a little smarter than she pretends to be, and he might not be as loving as Misa would like him to be, but at least he tolerates her. When Light was Kira, he would snap at Misa over absolutely nothing and send her away, but without his memories, Light could almost be sweet sometimes. He would let her stay near him, even though it was so obvious he didn't want her there; even Misa could tell; even though he had no clue why he'd ever agreed to date her in the first place without the Note to help him remember. And then there was L. He was weird, and so very unkempt, and clearly a pervert, but Misa really couldn't tell what he'd done to deserve the wrath of Kira being brought upon his head except follow his own beliefs; except want to stop Kira from killing so nearly indiscriminately, to stop him from doing such horrible things, from ending so many lives; Misa thought maybe L just wanted to save Kira from himself, and sometimes she thought she should just tell him and Light both everything she knew, everything she'd ever known about Kira and Death Notes and Shinigami, and just let it all out, just make it all stop, stop, stop-

"Misa, what are you going to have?"

But when she looked up at Light, she knew that confessing to being the second Kira would be condemning him as well; L would be convinced beyond a doubt that his suspicions had been right all along; and Misa just couldn't do that. So instead of opening her mouth, and spilling out everything she wanted to say but couldn't put into words, she smiled, opened her mouth, and said, "Misa will have a Caesar salad and a glass of water with a lemon wedge."

~*~

_April 18 2005_

L was sucking happily on a lollipop, giving himself and the force a short break from the case. Watari had recently begun insisting he take at least a half hour away from the case each day to simply relax, or possibly find something to release some stress. As much as the detective hated to admit it, this daily break had him feeling healthier and happier than he had felt in years. Perhaps those scientists had been on to something when they determined sitting at a computer all day wasn't good for the body.

"Hey, Ryuuzaki," Matsuda piped up, looking at the other man's computer. "There's someone in the lobby."

"Really," L mumbled, rolling his chair over to look. On the screen, two figures could indeed be seen, each holding a suitcase. L smiled slightly, connecting his microphone to Watari's room. "Watari, I believe Matt has arrived, and he seems to have brought someone with him," the detective said in a tone that sounded to most just as monotone as he always was, but Watari could hear an underlying happiness. "Would you go let them in past the lobby, please?"

"I was just about to go do that, Ryuuzaki," the older man responded, and L switched off his microphone with a pleased hum.

"Who's Matt, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked curiously.

"If Light-kun will be patient, he will see," L said, popping his sucker back into his mouth. "I am unsure of who Watari had accompany him, though. Who could it be..."

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened, and a grinning red-haired teenager walked in. _"Hi, L!"_

The detective smiled again. _"We went over this before you left, Matt. While you are here, you must call me Ryuuzaki. And it is rude to speak English in a room full of people who are unlikely to speak it fluently. Have you been neglecting your studies?"_

Matt grinned sheepishly. "Uh...sorry, Ryuuzaki. I...um..._I only even found out I had to learn Japanese three days ago; I can't learn that fast. I'm not Near, y'know."_

_"Be that as it may, you will still need to learn as quickly as you can if you wish to be of any help to the investigation. I will not translate for you forever. Now, might I ask who you brought with you?"_

Before the teen could answer, the door opened again, and a middle-aged woman rushed in, a small knot of brown hair flopping at the base of her neck. She smiled warmly at the force, breaking into a full-on grin when her eyes fell on L, and she quickly walked over, pulling him into a loose hug. _"Hello, dear! It's been so long since I've seen you!"_ She giggled happily, and the task force stared in amazement. Turning to face the rest of the men in the room, she smiled again. "Hello there. My name is Lori Richards; it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Light turned to see how L had reacted to the sudden hug, and was quite surprised to see the closest thing he'd ever seen to a real smile on the other man's face. "L, who are these people?" he asked, trying to stay as polite as he could, but he had to admit, he was horribly curious, especially about the boy. The redhead had a cast on his right wrist, a large pad of gauze bandaged onto his neck, and what looked like it might be several stitches under his bangs. What on earth had happened to him?

"Everyone, this is Matt and Ms. Lori," L said, brushing back Matt's hair to study his forehead, and Light confirmed to himself that there were indeed stitches there. "Matt is here due to some unfortunate circumstances at his former place of residence, where Ms. Lori has worked as a doctor for a number of years. I was not aware Roger would be sending you as well," he said, turning his attention back to Lori. Light suppressed a small grin at the look of utter confusion on Matt's face; the poor boy clearly had no idea what was being said.

Lori sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You honestly think I would have stayed behind once I heard you wanted Matt to come visit? I haven't seen you in nearly fifteen years, child. If you would just come home a bit more often, I wouldn't have to fly halfway around the world just to see my little Lawlipop."

Light snickered as L's cheeks took on such a pale shade of pink it was nearly invisible. "Ms. Lori, please do not call me that. It is important to my safety that you-"

"That I call you Ryuuzaki, I know," Lori interrupted. "I don't see how anyone could figure out your name from that, though." She looked around the room curiously. "Are you busy right now, boys?"

Matsuda shook his head. "No, Ryuuzaki was letting us take a break."

"Excellent," the woman said, taking one of L's hands in her own. "Come on, we need to go catch up with each other, Ryuu. _Matt, go with Watari to put your things away. Stay close to him; you don't want to get lost!"_ That said, she pulled L out of the room and down the hall.

Lori didn't let go of L until they had reached the elevator. "You can be such a mother, Ms. Lori," L said, a half-smile on his lips.

"Well, I did get plenty of practice when you were young," Lori said, stepping into the elevator. "Now, Watari said you had something of a mini-clinic here somewhere. What floor?"

"Fifth. Now, why did you come here? You have plenty of other children to care for back at the House, and I highly doubt you would leave them simply because I am your favorite."

"Watari told me there was a bit of a situation here, and that he was sure I would be able to help out and remain discreet," Lori said, frowning slightly when L merely gave her a blank stare. "You do know what I'm talking about, don't you, L?"

"I believe I do, but I do not quite want to believe that Watari has told anyone without my consent," the detective mumbled, stepping out of the elevator.

Lori sighed, following him down the hall. "He didn't tell me any of the details, L. Only what I need to know to help you. You can't go through this without a doctor, you know. Besides, I think I deserve to know if I'm going to be a grandmother."

"Ms. Lori is not my mother, and I do not feel Watari had the right to do this without even telling me," L grumbled, opening the door to the clinic.

"Oh, hush, I'm close enough," Lori said, waving a hand at the young man, then looked around the room L had led her to. "Wow...mini-clinic was certainly an understatement, Watari," she said quietly.

"He does seem to have had some work done in here recently without informing me," L said curiously, pressing a thumb to his lip. The room was fairly large, with pale yellow walls and white tile flooring. There were several different machines situated around the room, and a comfortable-looking bed was against the far wall, with a large, squishy green armchair near it. Another bed was situated near one of the machines, and L glanced nervously at Lori. "Are all of these machines for use during pregnancy?"

Lori nodded. "I think they are. Why else would Watari have had them put here? Now come here and sit down, we need to have a talk about your diet." The two crossed the room, L crouching in the armchair and Lori sitting on the edge of the bed. "Now, has your diet changed even a little since you were living at the House, L?" Lori asked, the hopeful look in her eyes disappearing when L shook his head. "Well, it's going to have to now. Since you eat all these sweets and cakes and candies, I'm going to have you take a glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning. It's almost two o'clock, so if you take it at eight, you can't eat anything after four today. All right?" L gave a rather forced nod, pulling a piece of hard candy from his pocket and popping it into his mouth. "Now, you're going to have to start eating healthier if you don't want to hurt the baby, okay? You'll need to start actually paying attention to the food pyramid, and it would probably be a good idea to give you some vitamins. I would do a nuchal scan to on the fetus, but it would be more accurate given another week or two, so I'll just do that at your next check-up. I would like to do an ultrasound to get a look at the baby and listen to its heartbeat. Finish your candy, take off your shirt, and lay down over there," she said, a note of fond amusement in her voice.

L bit down on his candy, crushing it, and swallowed before crossing to the other bed he'd seen, ignoring Lori's warnings that that couldn't be good for his teeth. He pulled his shirt up over his head, dropped it onto the floor, and settled into his usual crouch on the bed. Lori chuckled, turning on the nearby machine and picking up a bottle. "Lay down," she commanded gently, pressing L's shoulder until he complied. "This will be a little cold."

The detective twitched a little as the gel dripped onto his stomach, but showed no other signs of discomfort. Lori picked up a small wand-like object from the machine, and started running it over the gel. "Normally, we'd start things off with a transvaginal ultrasound, but you're already almost twelve weeks along according to Watari, so I'm going to go straight to transabdominal. Now...you see there? That's your baby, L," Lori said happily, pointing to a small, grey mass visible on the machine's screen. "Looks like it's going perfectly fine so far. Heartbeat is normal, and there are no signs of any early developmental problems."

L nodded slowly, staring at the blob that would become his child. It was an odd thought, and L wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He'd known he was pregnant for a few months not, of course, but to actually be seeing what he and Light had created was an entirely new experience. Lori turned off the machine and handed L a towel to wipe the gel off his stomach, chuckling quietly to herself. "What is it?" L asked curiously, rubbing the towel on his abdomen.

The doctor smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing, it's just...Do you even realize how big the grin on your face is?"

The detective blinked in surprise, pressing several fingers against his mouth. His lips were indeed pulled into a large smile, and L quickly felt the unfamiliar sensation of a laugh bubbling out of his throat. Perhaps he would be better able to adapt to the idea of becoming a parent better than he had initially thought.

* * *

**Hey, guys!! :super-big-happy-smile: You have ****no**** idea how happy I am to have finished the next chapter. I've never gotten a story going again after something happened to threaten it that badly, so I'm really proud of myself right now. But really, you guys are the ones to thank. You gave me support and love when I really needed it, and I just wish I could give each of you a giant hug. And everyone who reviewed the note I left doesn't have any organs or blood or anything! **** You know why? There's too much awesome inside you all for any organs to fit. You guys are all my favorite Nerdfighters now, whether you even know what that means or not. Trust me, it's a good thing, though! I saved each and every one of them, because I thought they'd disappear when I removed the chapter, but they didn't, so…yeah. None of you can leave a signed review on this chapter, unless they went away when I took down the note to post this. Do try, though! Please?  
**

**My outline for this has gotten a lot longer than I thought it would, and has waaaay more details in it than the original did, so that's actually one positive thing that's come out of all this.**

**And I noticed something weird when I was comparing this chapter to the last one! The last one is over a page longer, but this one has over 500 words more, not counting author's notes. Does this one just have really big paragraphs or something? I dunno! Anyway, I'm up, I'm writing, and the story is finally moving somewhere!**

**You people have no idea how close I am to tears of absolute joy from how much I love you all right now. Really, you don't.**

**One last thing before you go! I really liked the part with Misa I put in here, and I'd kinda like to expand on it or write something similar as a oneshot. If I did, would any of you guys read it and review?**

**Review Replies! I'm Too Lazy to Put Something Sexy Here!**

**ShinoHina4eva****: Thanks! Poor Matty indeed…:huggle:**

**J'taime****: It's never too late to say happy birthday! That is an odd sickness. Hopefully you're feeling better by now, and if not, here's an update to make you better!**

**EOSOPHAGUS****: Aye-aye, captain! I shall do my best!**

**master holykira****: Thanks! And may I just say, I love your penname!**

**Hybrid-Sunshine****: Kitty cat dance!! Heh…Mellocula…that's an interesting image. Glad you think I'm doing good with Misa!**

**Yay****: ^.^ Glad you like it!**

**Amanda Saitou****: You'll just have to keep reading to find that out, now won't you?**

**misswarchan****: Yeah, there's too many crack!preg fics. I'm putting a lot of research into this to make the pregnancy as realistic as a pregnant natural-born male can be. Sorry about the time scene skips, though…I had no idea how to go about that talk between Light and Soichirou, otherwise I would've put it in.**

**angstkitten****: Chapter is written! Matt's talked of the beating! Review or die! :grin:**


	7. 6

**Another pre-chapter note, guys! I have replaced :scenechangescenechange: with o0O0o0O0o, and will edit past chapters to match. Also, another new way of talking! Through camera-feeds or monitors, speech will be bold, okay? Good. Read on!**_**  


* * *

**_

_April 27 2005_

Matt sighed, flopping onto a couch. _'I am so bored,'_ he thought, staring across the room at Light. The older teen was arguing quietly with L about something, but he couldn't tell what. Learning to speak Japanese was hard enough; the gamer didn't think he'd ever learn to read lips in the language. Plus, what little he could hear of them didn't sound like it was Japanese; more like German or something. _'They must really not want anyone to know what they're talking about.'_

The redhead considered pulling out his Japanese book for a moment before deciding he'd rather not learn anything new today, and pulling a slightly battered-looking black GameBoy Advance from his pocket. He plugged a pair of bright orange ear buds into the headphone jack, sticking the plastic buds into his ears and turning on the GameBoy. As the familiar music of Tetris flowed into his ears, Matt grinned at the joy he got from finding a game he could play one-handed. It was easier to play with his left hand than his right, anyway, so he guessed he should be a little grateful to Mello for leaving his dominant hand alone.

After only a few minutes of playing, Matt found he had a spectator, and glanced up for less than a second before returning his attention to the falling blocks on his screen. Due to his lack of bothering to actually learn their language, Matt hadn't quite been able to figure out anyone's names yet, and so merely remembered who was who by what seemed to be their most dominant trait around the rest of the force. His watcher seemed to get himself into trouble with the others fairly often, and just seemed kind of stupid in general, thus Matt had dubbed him The Dumb One. _"Can I help you?"_ the teen asked boredly. From what he'd seen in the past ten days, Dummy didn't seem to understand English very well, so hopefully refusing to even attempt Japanese would make him go away.

Dumbass fidgeted for a moment, looking torn between trying to actually communicate with Matt and going back to work, before finally just sitting down next to the teen. "You don't speak much Japanese, do you?" he asked, looking hopefully at the boy. Matt simply paused his game, gave the other a brief, blank stare, and went back to trying to ignore him. "Uh…_I am Touta Matsuda. You are Matt?"_

Matt sighed, nodding. _"Yeah. What do you want? I'm trying to play a game, y'know."_

Matsuda was quiet for several seconds, probably trying to decipher what he'd just heard and to formulate a response. _"…What are you playing?"_

"_Tetris."_

The teen blinked in surprise as the older man's face positively lit up. _"Tetris! That is…is fun, yes? I like it."_

"_Really…"_ Matt murmured, glancing down at the still-frozen screen on his game. Well, if the guy was a fellow gamer, maybe he could at least give him a chance. He pulled his book out of his bag, flipping through it a few times. "You want to try?"

Matsuda grinned, nodding. Matt pulled the ear buds from his ears, letting them fall onto the couch, and handed the game to the older man. Matsuda started a new game, and the teen watched as he started rapidly filling and clearing lines of blocks. After several minutes, the redhead flipped through his dictionary again. "You're really good at this, Matsuda."

The older man grinned again, clearly pleased at the compliment, but the expression quickly changed to disappointment as the screen finally filled and gave the infamous message of Game Over. Matsuda held the game out to the teen, who took it and happily started a new game for himself.

A slight shadow fell over the two suddenly, and they both looked up curiously. "Matsuda-san, what are you doing?" L asked, annoyance written on his face.

Matsuda's face fell, and he cast a brief glance at Matt. "Uh…"

L shook his head. "Never mind, Matsuda-san. If you think playing video games with a teenager is a better use of your time than trying to capture a mass murderer, feel free to continue."

"Ryuuzaki, I-"

"Matsuda. I do not wish to hear what excuses you may have for ignoring your work like this, and even if I did, I highly doubt that any you could give me would be acceptable or even make any sense in face of the fact that you were doing nothing more than playing while Kira is out there somewhere, killing what now seems to be innocents as well as the criminals he started with." The detective bent over further, putting his face uncomfortably close to Matsuda's. "If you would rather play games than work on this case with us, then do so at home where you will be both less of a distraction and less of a burden to the people who actually want to see justice served."

The whole room had gone rather silent by this time; everyone was ignoring their own work in favor of watching L and Matsuda. It was incredibly out of character for L to be leaving his own work to chew out the older man. The entire force watched silently as L seemed to decide he'd finished and walked off in the direction of the kitchen.

Light sighed, sliding his chair away from his desk. "I'll go after him," he said, and glanced at Matsuda. "Don't worry too much about it, Matsuda. He's probably just feeling really stressed." The teen paused for a moment at the door, looking back at the other man. "Although you really shouldn't be playing games. Get back to work."

o0O0o0O0o

When Light got to the kitchen, he found L bent over, digging through the refrigerator. He cleared his throat rather loudly, and the detective peeked out from around the door, a slice of American cheese hanging from his teeth. "I really don't think it was necessary to snap at Matsuda like that, Ryuuzaki."

L ducked back into the fridge, noisily eating his cheese. "Perhaps it was not, Light-kun, but it certainly felt nice." He finally left the appliance, bringing a half-full carton of orange juice with him, and closed the door with his foot. "I have had quite a bit of stress accumulating lately, you know."

"I know, Ryuuzaki," Light half-mumbled, watching the older man hunt through various cupboards. "What are you looking for?"

A mumble of, "Garlic," was tossed over the pregnant detective's shoulder, shortly followed by a pleased noise, and L turned around holding a jar of garlic bulbs.

Light groaned in disgust, watching as the other picked up his orange juice and started towards the bedroom. "Ryuuzaki, please tell me you're not going to put garlic in your juice."

L glanced over his shoulder at the boy, a look of near horror on his face. "Of course not, Light-kun. Why would I mix such a ghastly drink?"

"Then what..?" Light shook his head, following L into his room and sitting down on his bed. "Never mind."

The detective crouched down next to Light, taking a swig of juice straight from the lip of the carton. He held it out to the teen, and Light took it, casting a critical gaze on the cardboard before setting it down on the floor. L then opened his jar of garlic, pulling out one of the bulbs and biting into it.

Light cringed, placing the orange juice back in the detective's outstretched hand. "Ryuuzaki, how can you eat that? It's disgusting."

"I do not care, Light-kun. Your child seems to think it tastes just fine," L snapped, taking another bite of his garlic.

"Okay, okay," Light said, holding up his hands in surrender. "You're pregnant; you can eat whatever you want. But you still need to keep yourself under control around the force. It's not like you to be so snippy."

"It is not like me to be pregnant, either, Light-kun," the detective pointed out dryly, and filled his mouth with garlic again. "An' Matshuda should realishe that cacshing Kiya ish more imfortant than shome shtupid fideo game."

"…Swallow, and try that okay," Light groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Av you wif, Ligh-kun." L gave a loud gulp, sending his mouthful of garlic down his throat. "I said Matsuda should be able to realize that catching Kira is paramount to playing games. Also, Light-kun's continued insistence that I was too harsh on him about letting Kira run amok does nothing to deter my suspicions of his guilt." L took another drink of his juice and flopped onto his back, sighing.

"Is there anything that does?," the brunette groaned, glaring at the other man. A slight lump under L's shirt caught Light's attention, and he grinned. "Hey…is your chest growing?"

L blinked. "My chest?"

"Yeah. Right there," Light said, gently poking the other just above the ribs. "Looks like somebody's getting ready for their baby," he said quietly, giving the small mound of L's stomach a little rub. "You won't be able to hide this for much longer, you know."

The detective sat up suddenly, glaring at Light. "And who do we have to thank for this, Light-kun? Is it my fault that I am gaining weight? Is it my fault that my ankles will be swelling and difficult to walk on? Is. It. My fault that the task force will probably view me as even stranger than they already do when my abdomen has swollen to the point that I will be unable to take more than ten steps without it knocking into something or someone? Is it MY FAULT that my chest is expanding in preparation to give milk to the child growing within me?" L had been crawling across the bed towards Light as he was talking, and now had his face mere inches away from the younger man's. "No, Light-kun. This is all your fault," he hissed, eyes narrowing to slits. "It is your fault, for being too eager to take me against the counter to bother yourself with either a contraceptive, or even to realize that the orifice you were shoving yourself into was not what you thought it was."

"Ryuuzaki, I-"

"NO, Light. You will close your mouth and listen to what I have say to you. I am not going to be nice to Matsuda simply because you say I should, I will tell the force that I am pregnant when I am good and ready, we will find Kira before I give birth because I refuse to bring a child into a world with such a monster in it, and you will either be a good father and help me take care of the baby once it is born, or you will be put to death, depending on whether or not you are indeed found to be Kira." The detective leaned back from Light, staring down at his chest. "You will also pay for the bra I will undoubtedly require by the end of all this."

Light chuckled, wrapping an arm around L's shoulders. "Of course I will, Ryuuzaki. I'm not completely irresponsible, you know."

"…I know."

~*~*~

_April 28 2005_

The main room was quiet the next morning when Light walked in. He'd woken up a bit late, and the rest of the force would be arriving before too long, but the boy was surprised when he saw L wasn't sitting at his computer. The older man was still sleeping much more than he had before, but once L had gotten used to his sleep schedule, he'd started going to bed earlier and was usually at work an hour or so before Light and the rest of them would start. The machine had clearly been in use already, however; the screensaver was on. _'Maybe he's in the kitchen,'_ Light thought, heading towards the other room.

"Ryuuzaki, are you in here?" the teen quietly called out, opening the door to the kitchen. Large black eyes glanced up at him for a moment before turning their attention back to the stove. "Since when do you cook?" Light asked, walking over to stand next to the detective.

"I have been able to cook quite a few dishes for most of my life, Light-kun. I simply have Watari cook for me when I am on a particularly difficult case." L reached past the younger man to grab a spatula, flipped a large, yellow omelet onto a plate, and shuffled to take a seat at the table. Light poured himself a cup of coffee, sitting down across from L and wrinkling his nose as the other man proceeded to liberally spoon sugar onto his breakfast.

The room was silent, save for L's fairly loud chewing and Light's quiet sipping of his coffee, for several minutes, and Light found it oddly comfortable. Normally, he'd be nagging the older man about his poor table manners and attempting to get him to eat properly, but whether it was due to the early hour or if he was just getting used to it, the brunet found that he didn't seem to mind so much today. He smiled to himself, taking another sip of coffee.

"Light-kun?" L said quietly, gently breaking the silence.

"What is it, Ryuuzaki?" Light responded, sipping his drink again.

"The smell of your coffee is making me a bit nauseous. Could you possibly take it to the main room?"

"The coffee pot is still in here, though, Ryuuzaki. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to leave?" the brunet asked, motioning to the mostly-full pot on the counter.

"I suppose," the detective murmured after a moment, nibbling at the end of his fork. He glanced down at his mostly-empty plate, shoved the last bit of his omelet into his mouth, and stood up. He crossed the room, wrinkling his nose at the coffee pot as he passed, and dropped his dishes unceremoniously into the sink.

o0O0o0O0o

Matt sighed, staring at his Japanese book. L had confined him to his room for the next three days and taken away his video games; although he had been left his computer; after he distracted Matsuda with Tetris. The teen picked the book up from his desk, and tossed it onto his bed. _"So, learning. We meet again,"_ he said, pacing in front of his bed. _"What do you have to say for yourself?"_

The book was silent.

"_Not much of a chatterbox, are you? Well, we have ways of making you talk."_ Matt pulled a belt from his still mostly unpacked suitcase, and brandished it at the hardcover lying on his blankets. _"It is my responsibility to pull whatever knowledge I can from you, a responsibility given to me by none other than L himself, and I __will__ complete my mission. Now speak!"_ he cried, snapping the belt against the front cover of the book and opening it. He paused, looking to see what page was revealed. _"Grammar and sentence structure, eh? That's more like it, __book__."_ The teen cackled, lifting the book from the mattress, and began reading to himself.

Now, if the classes at Whammy's had been more like this, Matt had to think maybe L would have had some actual standing with choosing him as his successor.

A sudden yell from his computer prompted Matt to look away from his lesson and see what was happening. He'd hacked into Watari's camera feeds with only a little trouble over the first three days after he arrived, and had to think L wanted him to, seeing as he hadn't been disconnected yet from several of the cameras. Looking at the screen, the redhead could tell the yell was coming from the main room of the task force.

"**Ryuuzaki, you can't honestly be asking me to believe this!"** Matt frowned. Of course they'd be speaking Japanese. He typed in a few commands, missing out on a bit of the back-and-forth between L and Mr. Yagami, and grinned as he got his translator running, and a line of subtitles started running at the bottom. This was a pretty fast program, too, so it only had a few seconds' delay between something being said and it appearing on the monitor.

"**Yagami-san, please be reasonable. I understand that this is a bit much to take in all at once, but there is still more that I need to tell you."**

Mr. Yagami stared at L for a moment, seeming a bit stunned. **"Let me get this straight, Ryuuzaki. You're telling me that my son lied directly to my face when he told me ****you**** had been lying to me about whatever it is you two do after hours."** The detective nodded. **"You're telling me that Light is a homosexual, and he's been sleeping with you."** Matt blinked in surprise as L nodded again. **"You've chosen to tell me this while Light is out of the room because he would deny all of this, correct?"**

**"Actually, no, Mr. Yagami. I believe it is simply a coincidence that Light-kun needed to use the restroom at the same time that I chose to finally come clean about all this, although there is the slim possibility that he realized what I was about to do and chose to be in another room while it took place. About two point three percent, I would think."**

**"While what took place?"**

Every face in the room turned to face the door just below the camera. Light must have returned, Matt guessed.

**"Light, please tell me that Ryuuzaki is simply bored and lying,"** the brunet's father said, glaring at L.

**"Light-kun knows I am not bored. I am finally telling them what to expect in the coming months."**

**"'Coming months'?"** Mr. Yagami shot back, turning to stare at his son. **"Light, what is he talking about?"**

Matt switched the feed on his computer, changing to a camera across the room. Light was leaning in the doorway, rubbing his forehead. **"L, if you're going to tell them, just do it already. Stop dragging it out. And Dad, please believe him,"** he said, looking up at his father.

Matsuda looked nervously from Light to L. **"Are you sick, Ryuuzaki? Because you've definitely seemed like it lately; you've been acting really weird. You don't have AIDS or something, do you?"**

Matt snorted at the look of alarm that crossed both the Yagami's faces. How would L have AIDS? That was a druggie disease. Although...looking at the detective, Matt had to admit he did look a bit druggish.

L shook his head. **"No, Matsuda-san. I am completely free of any diseases, sexual or otherwise. However, and understand that I do realize how difficult it is to believe what I am about to tell you, I am suffering a side effect of my relationship with Light-kun."** The detective sighed, hopping out of his chair and gripping the bottom of his shirt. He bit his lip, looking quite unsure for a moment, before speaking again. **"I am pregnant,"** he said rather hurriedly, lifting the loose white material and revealing a fairly large bump that had managed to mostly hide itself beneath his shirt.

Matt's mouth dropped open, and a toothpick he'd been chewing fell to the carpet. _"No way,"_ he whispered, as the main room erupted.

Afro and the giant just stayed in their seats, staring at L in shock. Matsuda looked surprised for a minute, but quickly recovered and rushed towards L with the obvious intent to touch his stomach. L sidestepped the older man, and quickly ducked to avoid a fist suddenly thrown by Mr. Yagami.

**"Dad!"** Light yelled, grabbing his father by the arm.

**"L, this is not the kind of thing to joke about. I don't know why you feel the need to, especially in the middle of a case like this, but it is not funny and I do not appreciate losing this much time that could be spent finding Kira to indulge the whims of your imagination,"** Mr. Yagami growled, glaring at the detective.

Matt let out a low breath. _"If looks could kill, eh?"_ he called over to the abandoned book lying on the floor.

On the monitor, Light sighed. **"He isn't joking, Dad. He really is pregnant."**

**"Light, I know you're smarter than this. You passed biology at the top of the class. Men cannot get pregnant, correct?" **The teen nodded. **"And Ryuuzaki is a man, correct?"**

Light started to nod, but stopped. **"I...don't really know how to answer that. You take this one, Ryuuzaki,"** he said, gently pushing his father into a chair. **"And Matsuda, leave him ****alone****."**

**"Okay,"** Matsuda said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. **"D'you want some coffee or anything, Ryuuzaki?"**

The detective shook his head, sitting back down. **"No thank you, Matsuda-san. Coffee has been making me feel a bit ill lately. And to answer Yagami-san's question, while I am indeed a man, I ****also possess the sexual organs of a woman. While this may not be unheard of in and of itself, my organs work just as well as any woman's."**

Matt wrinkled his nose, sticking his tongue out at the detective on-screen. That wasn't something he'd ever wanted to know. Plus, wouldn't that mean he could theoretically knock himself up?

Matsuda apparently had the same thought, and asked L about it not even thirty seconds later. The detective stared at the other man for a moment before answering. **"No. Although my female organs are in perfect working condition, I am afraid the same cannot be said for their male counterparts."**

Matsuda blushed a bit, nodding. **"Okay then. But Light, I never would've guessed you were gay. I mean, you're going out with Misa, and your dad always talked about how popular you were with girls."**

The brunet sighed. **"I'm not gay, Matsuda. Ryuuzaki was convenient, and it's not like I could get any time alone with Misa anyway, what with the handcuffs and all."**

**"You've been sleeping together this long?"** Mr. Yagami asked in disbelief.

**"Yes, Yagami-san. In fact, the first time I was apparently so very 'convenient' was mere days after I released Light from his confinement and put him under surveillance using the handcuffs,"** L hissed, standing up and glaring at the teen. **"This is correct, Light?"** Matt chuckled to himself. Light had just pissed off a pregnant person. This was gonna be good.

Light blinked in surprise. **"Y-yeah. But what're you getting so mad abo-"** The brunet was cut off by an abrupt foot connecting with his jaw, and he went flying to the floor. **"What the ****hell****, Ryuuzaki?!"** he yelled angrily as the detective stormed from the room, and his father reached down to pull him to his feet.

Mr. Yagami sighed, looking at his son. **"Light, if Ryuuzaki really is pregnant, and that little outburst definitely indicates some hormones acting up, you have a lot to learn about what to say and what not to say from now until that child is born."**

* * *

**Oh, Light. You silly, silly boy. I don't feel sorry for what I'm going to put you through in the slightest. ^o^**

**Anywho! Sorry about the delay between updates, I've had some writer's block and been preparing for March 28, which will hopefully be a really good day full of sales and friend-making. I'll be at Animarathon in BG, sharing a table in Artist Alley with a friend. If you're there and you see me, say hi and lemme snap a quick picture of you, okay? I'd love to meet some of my readers in person if I could.**

**Now, I didn't get a lot of feedback last chapter; only three reviews; and I know that's probably because of all the issues with my computer dying and such, so if you could, lemme know what you thought with a review to this one? It won't take much, just tell me if you liked last chapter, okay?**

**I feel like complaining about a pet peeve of mine in fan fiction that I've been seeing a lot of lately: The characters using fan girl terms. So often lately I keep seeing L, Matt, or the Hitachiins from OHSHC referring to themselves and their partners as 'seme' and 'uke' and their sexy-time as 'yaoi'. I Highly Doubt Actual Gay Couples Use These Terms In The Heat Of Sex-time. *glare* If it's a parody fic, then fine, I don't care, but please, just leave them out of serious fics! Lemme know what your pet peeves are in a review if you feel like it. I'd like to see what you guys like and don't like.**

**And before I go, one last thing to look forward to next chapter: April 28, the day I ended this chapter in, has a lemon planned in the outline. *grin***

**Though They Are Few, The Reviewers Still Live!**

**your-loving-sister-and-beta: *hides in the corner* I'm not that amazing!!!  
**

**DarkAngelJudas: Of course Lori's gonna stay. I'm glad you like her; she's been going over pretty well. And I know, Mello went completely nuts, huh? I love playing with his instability.  
**

**Holly Lawliet: Updated! Not as soon as I would have liked, but...yeah...^^;  
**


	8. 7

**Note that the rating of this fic's gone up. We get some sexy fun time right from the get-go this chapter, so if you don't want to read that, just skip from the kiss on down to May 9. It's not that long a scene, though. You guys who want it are probably gonna be annoyed with me for that...^w^;**

**Oh! And before I forget, because I keep ****forgetting**** and it's gonna get me kicked off here someday! I don't own Death Note, Ohba and Obata do, I've just kidnapped the characters for shits and giggles!

* * *

**

_April 28 2005 cont._

Light paused at the bedroom door, and gently prodded his left cheek. It was rather swollen, and the brunet didn't particularly feel like talking to L right now. His father insisted that the longer he waited, the worse L would probably make it for him, though, so the teen sighed and gently tapped his knuckles against the door.

"Come in."

Light opened the door, and saw L lying upside-down on his bed, his hair just brushing the carpet. He had a jar of pickles sitting on the floor next to his head, and as the teen watched, he dipped his fingers into it, soaking them in juice for a few seconds before pulling the appendage from the jar and beginning to suck his fingers. "What ish it, Ligh-kun?" he mumbled around the digits in his mouth.

The brunet closed the door and crossed the room, sitting down next to the detective. He frowned as the older man wriggled to put a bit more space between them, but decided to let it go. He wouldn't get anywhere by being antagonistic with the other. "I wanted to apologize for upsetting you. I was an ass, and I'm sorry. I haven't gotten used to your mood swings yet, so I guess I don't know what's safe to say around you just yet. You didn't have to kick me, though," he added as a bit of an afterthought.

L blinked slowly, and looked up at the younger man. He pulled his hand from his mouth, licking the last few drops of pickle juice from his fingertips, and pushed himself into a sitting position with his legs crossed beneath him. "Go on," he said quietly, watching the brunet.

"Go on?" L nodded. "Well, that's all I had to say. Um...I really am sorry. You're reasonable; you should know I didn't mean to insult you."

The detective nodded a few times, drawing his lips together in a tight line. "I see what you mean, Light. I realize you are sorry, and I also realize that I am being rather rude myself, by refusing to accept your heartfelt apology." Light opened his mouth to protest, but L held up a finger to silence the younger man. "No, I am sorry now. Let me speak, Light. I apologize to you now; for not immediately accepting your apology and offering one of my own in return. Perhaps it would be more convenient to simply show you that I repent by lying down and allowing you to have your way with me again?" The raven-haired man flopped back across the blankets; his shirt riding up to show a bit of skin; and gave the brunet a challenging stare.

Light was silent, staring in utter confusion at the detective. The little bit of hip poking from between L's shirt and jeans was also rather tantalizingly distracting, and it was nearly a minute before he managed to get his thoughts properly arranged to speak. "You're mad because I called you convenient?"

L shoved himself up, a look of absolute fury on his face. "Light did not even know why I was angry when he decided to apologize to me?" he hissed. "Apparently I was just the nearest convenient object for you."

"I didn't mean it like that, L!" the brunet yelled. "I just meant that you were there, and I was frustrated, and you wouldn't have gotten pregnant! But just look how well that turned out! You couldn't even tell me what was in your pants before we did anything, huh?"

"Perhaps if Light had been a less selfish lover, he would have discovered the contents of my pants on his own before I told him I was with child!"

Light clenched a fist at his side, struggling to keep himself under control. "You have no idea how much I want to punch you right now, do you?" he asked quietly.

"Go ahead," L challenged, leaning closer to the younger man's face. "If you want to do it so much, go right ahead, Light. I will not hold it against you just because I am pregnant."

The brunet placed a hand on L's shoulder, and they sat in silence for a few moments. Just when L was starting to think they might never say anything again, Light reared his other arm back and slammed his fist into the detective's cheek, snarling, "Now we'll match!"

L was silent for a second, rather shocked that Light had actually risen to the taunt, and that second was all Light needed to grab both of his shoulders and pull him in to kiss him. The brunet slid the tip of his tongue out, gently brushing it against the elder's lips. L opened his mouth to grant the other access, and the pink organs clashed against each other, brushing against teeth and skin as they each fought to control the kiss.

The detective was certainly surprised at this turn of events, but sex was ultimately preferable to fighting, so he wasn't going to complain.

Light released the pitch-haired man's shoulders, lowering his hands to undo the fly of his jeans and slipping a hand in to grip the half-erection in L's boxers. He earned a slight whimper for his actions, and gave the detective a gentle tug, licking at the roof of his mouth. His other hand then left L's hips to travel up his chest and tweak a nipple. The detective rewarded him with a low moan, and reached around to grip Light's hips and thrust his own towards the younger man. Light groaned as his wrist was shoved up against his own erection, and he released L to work at getting himself out of the too-tight confines of his pants. L reached down to pull his jeans and boxers away as well, quickly followed by his shirt. Once his clothes had been dealt with, the older man grabbed Light by the shirt he still wore, and pulled him in to meet his lips again.

The two kissed for nearly a minute before Light pulled away for air, staring lustfully at the detective. L fell back against the bed, breathing heavily, and Light took a moment to drink in the sight of him. L's cheeks were flushed, his lips red and swollen. His stomach was just barely rounded, and Light felt a sudden overwhelming need to feel it, and he gently ran a hand across it. L shivered at the touch, arching his back just slightly to push into it. Light bent over to run his tongue across a pale nipple, and L moaned loudly, grabbing the younger man by the shoulders.

"T-that's enough, Light-kun," the detective gasped. "If you are going to do this, get on with it already."

Light nodded, lifting his fingers to L's face and nudging them into his mouth. "Okay." Once L had given the fingers an acceptable coating of saliva, he shoved them out of his mouth with his tongue, and Light lowered them to gently prod at the ring of muscle he needed to open. L shifted a bit in discomfort as Light slid two in at once, wriggling them to help loosen the passage. The detective grunted, clenching on the fingers in annoyance. "I know it's uncomfortable, but if you don't relax, it'll just hurt more," the teen growled, wriggling his fingers. L just stared back at the brunet, and a sudden idea popped into Light's head. He looked down between L's legs, catching sight of a small slit mostly obscured by the balls hanging down towards his hand. Using his free hand, Light lifted the sac, giving it a gentle roll, then slid his fingers past it and into the opening revealed.

L threw his head back with a loud, long moan at the sudden double penetration. His muscles constricted briefly, then relaxed, and Light immediately crooked his fingers to press on the detective's prostate. L's breath caught in his throat, and he writhed on the bed as Light slid a third finger in to join the others, lowering himself down the detective's body. The brunet's thumb suddenly found his clit, and L positively shrieked as a warm tongue ran along the underside of his sensitive stomach at nearly the same moment.

The brunet chuckled at L's reaction, and moved his attention from his belly to run his tongue up the cock jutting from its nest of black curls. Little gasps could be heard from L's mouth as Light lowered his own over the warm organ, taking in as much as he could.

A pale hand reached down, grasping Light's hair tightly. L was groaning and twitching beneath the younger man, and the idea that it was him making the detective feel so good sent a slight tingle down Light's spine. He hummed contentedly, relaxing his throat to try and take L in even deeper.

"L-Light!" L cried as the tip of his member bumped up against the back of the brunet's throat. The hand he had tangled in the brown locks tightened its grip even more, and his other pulled at the bed sheets for lack of anything else to do. Several bursts of absolute pleasure began coursing through L as Light rubbed at his prostate again, while also beginning to hum lightly each time he lowered his head on L's cock. The detective gasped again, feeling his balls tense and draw up a bit. He tried to hold himself back in an effort to keep Light from stopping for as long as possible, but another press on his prostate, tripled with a pinch to his clit and teeth lightly running along his member, finally pushed him over the edge and he came, screaming Light's name.

Light coughed, choking a bit on the surge of cum in his throat, and sat up. He could feel cum dribbling down his chin, and rubbed the sleeve of the shirt he still hadn't removed against it. The teen looked down at the man on the bed, smiling to himself at how tired the other looked.

"Light-kun gives exceptional fellatio for a man who was claiming not to be homosexual mere hours ago," L drawled rather sleepily. "If we do not watch out, he may soon be making pancakes while wearing a pink apron and sobbing over Lifetime movies."

Light glared at the half-asleep detective, grabbing a pillow and smacking him in the face playfully. "We aren't done yet, you know, so you'd better behave yourself or I just might have to make this interesting."

L blinked up at the other, a mischievous smirk growing on his lips. "Let's see just how 'interesting' you can make yourself, Light-kun," he murmured, pulling the younger down into a kiss.

~*~*~

_May 9 2005_

Matsuda sighed, staring miserably at his computer screen. "Hey Ryuuzaki, I think you should probably see this," he called across the room, turning the volume up. L lifted his feet from his seat, using his desk to launch his rolly-chair across the floor, and stopped at the older man's desk. Matt and Light also came to see what was going on, curiosity especially evident in the eyes of the teen who had only fully mastered the Japanese language that morning. A small video screen was open on the page, showing a news broadcast.

**"-death toll nearing five hundred in only a few short months, many citizens of Aoyama are packing their belongings and fleeing the city. Some, however, insist on remaining in the homes they've grown up in. Our camera crew went on the scene earlier today, talking to several residents they came across."** The screen switched from showing the newscaster to a street view. A fairly young man, probably in his later teens, was standing on the sidewalk, grinning at a girl standing next to him.

**"Why do you feel that it's still safe to live here, sir?"** a voice asked off-screen.

The man tilted his head to the side for a moment before answering. **"Well, I dunno if it's really ****safe**** or not anymore, but my dad doesn't want to try and find a job somewhere else, and none of my friends have left yet. I trust the guys' judgment, and if they aren't running away, I'm not either."**

The girl frowned, smacking her friend on the arm. **"Mashiro, would you listen to yourself? You're being such an idiot!"** She turned to face the camera, nibbling her bottom lip. **"My parents don't want to leave, either. They don't want me to stay here, though, so I'm going to stay with my aunt in Hokkaido. Doesn't even make sense that they won't come with me."** She gave a forced-sounding laugh, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

The force watched for several minutes as various others were interviewed, but there wasn't much else of interest on the program aside from a girl who'd said she was excited about all the deaths and a boy who said straight into the camera, "If this is Kira or something doing this, take me out already!" and attacked the cameraman.

The screen finally returned to the newswoman who had been speaking initially. **"No one knows just what is happening in Aoyama at this point. A popular theory is that Kira has turned his attention from just criminals and seems to be attempting all-out extermination of the human race, but authorities have refused to comment on the idea. If this is the work of Kira, he is most definitely far more powerful than we have thought, seeing as very few of these deaths are heart attacks. The following is a list of the dead thus far, their age, and their cause of death."**

L leaned closer to the screen as names started scrolling up, trying to find something to tie them together besides where they lived, but quickly found himself coming up empty. The dead included native Japanese, foreigners, criminals and innocents alike, and any age ranging from five to over seventy. "Maybe he really is just trying to wipe us out," he murmured, sitting back in his chair. He looked to Light, feeling rather helpless. "If Kira is truly just killing anyone he sees, how on earth are we supposed to even begin narrowing down who he might be?"

Light shook his head, watching the scroll in disgust. "Turn it off, Matsuda. We've seen enough."

Matsuda nodded, moving his pointer to close the video. Matt suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand, his head tilted a bit as he watched the scroll. "One sec," he mumbled, eyes flying between ages and causes of death.

"Have you caught something, Matt?" L asked, looking back at the screen.

"I dunno. It might be nothing, but what I'd guess the amount of pain this guy's putting his victims through seems to vary by age," the teen said, leaning an elbow on the desk and propping his head on his hand. "See, the really young are all having really fast deaths, or just dying in their sleep. But this guy here," he tapped the screen, "was sixty-two, and he was in a really nasty car wreck that tore off both his legs and crushed him against a tree, leaving him to bleed to death."

"So Kira's decided that the longer a person lives, the more they deserve to suffer?" Aizawa asked quietly, frowning as the list continued scrolling across the screen. "As sick as it may sound, I'm kind of glad that at least the kids he's killing are going more peacefully."

"There's more, though," the redhead said, nibbling at his thumb. Light smirked a bit at the resemblance to L's habit, and looked back at the screen to try and see what Matt was seeing. "There's a break in the pattern, see? A lot of the victims from around fifteen to eighteen look like they probably didn't enjoy their final moments a whole lot. Like...this guy, Yusuke Watanabe. Says he's sixteen, and he just went completely nuts before he died. He cut off his dick, shoved it down his throat, and choked on it."

Light wrinkled his nose. "That's disgusting," he said flatly.

"It is also a rather juvenile attack method, as well," L murmured, turning to face the redhead. "What are Matt's thoughts on this?"

Matt sighed, finally letting Matsuda turn the video off. "Well, I'd guess that this Kira's probably a high schooler. Choking on your own dick is something a high school student would probably think of, and he'd be in the right age group to be seeing what other teens are doing and be most affected by it, so it makes sense that he'd really want them to suffer the most. Plus, the profile we're building here seems to match a victim of bullying fairly well. Not much contact with the world yet, and the little bit he has seen is full of assholes who're jerks to him and his friends, resulting in this attempt to eliminate the entire human race."

L smiled slightly behind his thumb. "This is quite similar to my pattern of thought, as well, with only a few miner differences. Do make sure not to discriminate between the sexes, Matt. Assuming that Kira is a man could prove to be a grave mistake. In fact," he paused, tilting his head back in thought. "I believe there is a 52.1 percent chance that this Kira is indeed a female. Women tend to be a bit more emotional, and would be more likely to allow children to die peacefully. Also, out of the teens I saw listed, there was a female to male ratio of 3:1 for the dead. While it is possible that Kira is a teenage boy who was shunned by the opposite sex in ways traumatic enough to cause him to subconsciously seek harm against any woman he can, it is a bit more likely that Kira is a teenage girl who has suffered teasing and bullying from her peers and is trying to send a message of fear into the subconscious of other girls."

The redhead blinked slowly, taking in the information. "I guess I see what you mean, Ryuuzaki. Makes sense," he said with a nod, crossing the room to plop onto the couch, and hissed through his teeth as his still-healing wrist bumped up against the arm of the furniture.

The room was rather quiet for several moments. Most of the force seemed rather unnerved by what they'd seen on Matsuda's computer, and no one said anything until L finally told them to break for lunch if they wished. The eldest three nodded to the detective, turning to head out for lunch. Matsuda went for the kitchen in search of something for himself, and Light joined Matt on the couch.

The younger teen had pulled his GameBoy out again, playing rather awkwardly with his good hand. Light could see some kind of green dinosaur with a flower around its neck spewing leaves at a bright red octopus. "That was pretty impressive for a kid your age. I didn't even catch the connection between age and pain," the brunet said with a slight grin.

Matt glanced at him rather distastefully out of the corner of his eye before going back to his game. "L told me he suspects you of being Kira. Don't think I trust you even a little bit." One of the creatures gave a cry of death, and the octopus dropped off the screen. The redhead grinned, pressing the A button as the winning messages popped up. "Take that, ass wipe. You were no match for razor leaf," he mumbled to himself, saving the game as soon as the battle sequence ended. "And hey, L!" he called across the room, standing up. The detective turned from a piece of cake he'd procured out of seemingly nowhere. "What's up with you letting Kira knock you up, anyway? That's really not very professional." The older men watched in surprise as he crossed the room, slipping into the kitchen to get some lunch for himself.

"Why'd you tell him you used to suspect me, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked. "And how'd he know you're pregnant? I didn't think you'd told him yet."

"Matt has every right to know who he is living with, Light-kun. He is a very untrusting individual, as well as a talented hacker. He has probably already gone through the files I have kept on the task force over the past year, and if I had not told him you were suspected, he would have found out on his own, and would then be upset with me for not telling him," the detective responded before eating another bite of cake. "As for his knowledge on my pregnancy, I would have to assume he has linked himself into the security cameras and watched me tell the force. And also, Light-kun, I did not tell Matt I used to suspect you. I told him that I still do."

The brunet groaned in annoyance. "L, I'm not Kira. How many times do we have to go through this?"

L frowned at his suddenly empty plate before looking up at Light. A small smile crossed his face, and he stood, following Matt's journey to the kitchen. "At least once more, Light-kun."

* * *

**There we go. That took longer than I was hoping for it to; I was hoping to post this sometime last week; so I'm sorry about that. Hope nobody missed me too much while I was gone. I would've had this done earlier in the week, but I've been a bit depressed over the convention being a complete flop. I only sold one item the whole time I was in the Alley, and that was to a friend who stopped by...=.= I did have fun other than that, though, and I think I've gotten over it for the most part.**

**Anyway! The plot is finally moving! The team's starting to profile Kira, which I'm quite happy about. Took me for****ever**** to think of anything Kira-wise for this fic.**

**Also, I've decided that I don't feel like individually replying to reviews anymore due to the fact that it takes up space and I'm lazy, so I'm just gonna thank my reviewers unless there's something I absolutely ****have**** to say to someone. So thanks, everybody! Til next time!**


	9. 8

_May 15 2005_

"How've you been doing, Ryuuzaki?" Lori asked. The detective shrugged his shoulders, nibbling boredly at a banana. "Well, it's good to see you eating something healthy for once, so that's a start. Have you had any morning sickness lately?"

L fidgeted a bit in his chair. "No. I would much prefer to be working on the case with the others right now, Ms. Lori. You said I would not be requiring an ultrasound, so I must admit I am rather confused as to why you felt the need to pull me away from my work."

"It's just a check-up, Lawli," the brunette said with a chuckle. "You've been so intent on getting Kira profiled that I haven't managed to snag you away to make sure you're taking care of yourself for the baby. Now, when's the last time you had any morning sickness?"

"Two weeks ago." L bit into his banana, now looking even more annoyed at the fact that he was going to be forced to stay in the clinic against his will.

Lori nodded. "That sounds like a normal time for it to stop at, from the conception date you gave me. And your diet is seeing some improvement, but I just need to ask how much. Your glucose test results were rather high, you know."

The detective rubbed his toes together, taking another bite of his fruit.

"Come on, L. What have you eaten since getting up yesterday? You can tell me that, can't you?" Lori asked, patting L on the shoulder.

The detective sighed, and began rattling off his menu of choice. "One devil's food cake, four bowls of strawberries, two bananas, including this one, an onion, seventeen cups of tea, a half gallon of orange juice, two ice cream sundaes, and numerous candies and sugar cubes. All in all, probably only two hundred or so more calories than I normally intake."

Lori was quiet for a moment, looking at the detective in surprise. "Well...that was actually a bit better than I was expecting. You had a little fruit in there, but you will have to cut down on the cakes and sweets, child. An expecting mother needs to eat healthier than other people, and more than them, too. You already eat more than the average person, but the majority of your diet is empty carbohydrates and fat, whether your figure shows it or not. We need to cut out those carbs, and replace them with something that's actually good for you and the baby, especially taking your test results into account."

The detective frowned. "I am not a mother, Ms. Lori. Women are mothers. I am not a woman," he grumbled, shoving the last of his banana into his mouth.

"Lawliet, you may not be a woman, but you most certainly are going to be a mother," Lori snapped back. "If you don't want to use the title of 'mom', you don't have to, but I know you, and I know you're looking for any loophole you can get to keep on going the way you are. You need to change your diet, L, or you'll just be hurting yourself and your baby. Even if you do start eating better, I'm going to have to give you an insulin shot before I let you leave today. You've taken far too long to try and change your habits." The doctor turned to a cabinet, pulling out a needle and a small jar filled with a clear liquid. L watched warily as she sat them on the table that had been set up next to his chair, followed by a jar of cotton balls, another jar of liquid, and a thick rubber band. "Roll up a sleeve, and give me your arm."

L curled in on himself a bit, glaring at the table. "I don't like needles, Ms. Lori. You know that."

"Well, the needle wouldn't be necessary if you had just changed your diet when I told you to," Lori said with a small smile. She picked up the needle, inserted the tip into one of the bottles, and slowly filled it. "Now roll up your sleeve."

"No."

"Lawliet. Roll up. Your sleeve."

The detective narrowed his eyes at the doctor, flipped himself out of the chair, and took off running. He'd never liked needles, never taken one willingly, and never would.

o0O0o0O0o

Watari hummed to himself as he entered the elevator. The force had finally developed a profile on Kira and wanted to get L's input as soon as possible, so the old man was coming down to the clinic floor to find out how long his charge would be. A simple check-up should have been over nearly half an hour before, really.

The 'ding' of the elevator reaching its destination pulled the man from his thoughts, and the doors opened to what first seemed to be a quiet hallway. Within seconds, however, a black-haired man came peeling around a corner at the end of the hall, racing madly towards the elevator. He was nearly halfway down the hall when he saw Watari, and a woman came around the corner after him. "Stop him, Quillsh!"

L quickly threw on the brakes, trying to turn into an open doorway, but it was too late. Watari grabbed hold of him just below the armpit, swinging the detective back into the hall and holding him tightly, pressing the boy's back against his chest. L thrashed about for several seconds, glaring at his captor, before finally calming and going limp. Watari nearly dropped the sudden dead weight, pulling him back to his feet. Lori came up then, panting heavily. "I'm getting too old to be chasing you around, L," she sighed. "Now give me your arm, damn it."

Quillsh look down at L's right arm. The sleeve had been pulled up rather roughly, and a rubber band was haphazardly wrapped above his elbow. Ah. That explained why he'd been so late getting back to work. When L was a child, he'd been well known at the House for being able to evade capture for hours when a shot was involved.

o0O0o0O0o

Light glanced up at the sound of the door opening. Watari had gone off to find L a little bit ago, and the brunet smirked at the look on the detective's face as he entered the room. He had a sucker in his mouth, both hands shoved deep in his pockets, and was positively glaring daggers at anyone who looked at him. "What's wrong with you, Ryuuzaki?"

"Nothing, Light-kun. Watari tells me you have some ideas on the identity of Kira. What are they?" L snipped.

"Well, we're pretty sure it's probably an older teen," Matsuda piped up.

"We think it's more likely that it's a boy," Aizawa interrupted. Matsuda looked a bit put out, but let the other man continue speaking. "We did take gender into consideration, but after reviewing what little evidence we have, most of us agree the probability of this Kira being a girl is fairly low."

"Most of us?" L asked, tilting his head a bit. "Who still believes Kira is a female?"

"I do."

L turned to look over at the couch. Matt was curled up at one end, GameBoy propped on the arm of the furniture, and looked fairly annoyed. "Why do you say that, Matt?" The teen shrugged, glaring at Light.

"He doesn't have a reason," Light said with a sigh. "He just keeps insisting that Kira's a girl, but doesn't have anything to back it up with. I think he's just trying to be irritating."

The detective crossed the room, crouching into place at the other end of the sofa. "Matt has a very keen intuition. He often finds it difficult to explain his theories at times, however, especially when the evidence is stacked against him. Over the years, however, I have never seen a time when his intuition is incorrect. In fact, he has helped me with cases I found rather challenging in the past simply by following his instinct. It is quite impressive, really."

Matt's cheeks flushed a bit. "Near and Mello helped you with cases, too, and they solved a lot more than I ever did," he mumbled.

"That is simply because I gave them more chances than I did you. They both had occasions where they solved a case incorrectly, but you have always figured out what you have needed to." L turned to Light, motioning him over. "Would Light-kun be so kind as to bring me a bowl of strawberries and a bottle of hot sauce? The good kind, at the back of the refrigerator."

"So, are we just going to work on the assumption that Kira is a teenage girl simply because whoever this kid is thinks we should?" Aizawa asked, clearly not particularly sold on the idea.

"This 'kid' is smarter than you, your wife, and your dead grandma's ghost put together, jackass!" Matt growled.

Aizawa bristled at the insult, swiftly crossing the room and clearly about to hit the boy. "Why, you little-!"

L leapt from the couch, quickly dropping into a handstand and slamming one foot into Aizawa's chest, and the other into Matt's. The redhead had been halfway through rolling up his shirt sleeves, and was probably hoping to let off some of the anger he'd been keeping to himself out on the older man. "That is enough from the both of you," L sighed, lowering his feet to the floor. "You are acting like children. Aizawa-san, I trust Matt's instincts completely. This means that we will be acting under the belief that it is 99% likely that Kira is taking a female form this time. Matt, it was completely uncalled for to bring Aizawa-san's ancestors into your petty argument. Aizawa-san, coming to blows with a teenage boy over an insult made in anger is a highly immature action. I expect you both to apologize, and to do so before I lose my patience."

"Really, you two. You shouldn't be pulling L into your fight in his condition," Light said, walking back in from the kitchen. "The hot sauce in the fridge was practically empty, so I found this in the cupboard. Will it do?" he asked, handing the food over to L.

"I suppose," the detective responded after intensely studying the label, and opening the bottle to smell its contents. "Now, what do you two have to say to each other?" he asked, smothering a strawberry in the sauce and popping it into his mouth.

Aizawa's jaw clenched a bit. "I am sorry I tried to hit you, Matt, no matter how much of a little shit you were being to deserve it."

"And I'm sorry I insulted your family, even though it's definitely true," the teen spat out, picking his GameBoy up from the couch and storming off to his room.

"What a lovely little family the force is becoming," L said, the faintest hint of amusement twitching his lips. "Well, come on, everyone. Back to work."

* * *

**I made it! Two days longer, and I would have gone a full month without updating. I ****hate**** when I do that. Grar. Sorry the chapter's so short! I've gone through my outline and marked where I want chapters to start and end, and I think this is probably gonna be the most common length. It's about two thousand words, so I think I'll be happy with that. You thoughts?  
**

**Anyways. Where the hell did that come from, Matt and Aizawa?? I didn't plan that out! They took over my fingers and did what they wanted to do. I quite liked it, though. :grin:**

**I feel silly now, cuz just this morning I told a reviewer that I didn't know when I'd update, because my muse died for a while. Then today, I pulled out my laptop and the chapter just flowed out. Apparently, all my muse needed to get back in gear was to see L riding in a hot pink van with 'Angel Crepes' written on the side.**

**On that note, I order you all to go illegally download L: Change the WorLd now, so you can see how freaking hilarious it was so you'll buy it properly when it's on DVD. I know I will! That movie…agh. I went in expecting utter shit, and LOVED it. L's so adorably awkward with the kids! **

**Plus, I got a picture taken of me giving Near bunny ears. ^.^ Wish I would've found the Mello we saw earlier, though, and gotten a picture with all three of the Whammy boys together…ah, well.**

**We're at 48 reviews now, people! Come on, just two more and I'll do…something…. Probably a one-shot request, but that's up to whoever gets awesome number 50!**


	10. 9

**Oh....oh, my goodness....um....hi. Has it really been two months? Oh, jeez. So sorry! I've been running on empty with writing anything lately; I've tried to start this chapter more times than I can remember, but just....ugh. You know what, I can't make any excuses about this. There's nothing more I can say except that I'm sorry, I've been prepping for college and had ****no**** inspiration for much of anything lately, and I'll try to make sure this doesn't happen again.**

**I wrote a good chunk of this chapter while watching Zoboomafoo, because the Kratt brothers are awesome and made of win. I still miss Kratt's Creatures. That show rocked. The rest I wrote while waiting for my modem to arrive, and I had nothing do besides walk around exploring the city and play The Sims. I've been walking almost nonstop for two days now. My feet hurt.**

**Anyway, I'll end this mass of rambling nonsense now, and let you get on with what you want.**

**Fuck, one last thing! I procrastinated in actually learning ****anything**** about Aoyama until long after plot points were in place, and I don't think there's actually three high schools in the area. I can only find info on one. Ignore this discrepancy, if you would.**

* * *

_May 18 2005_

"Okay. What do we know?" Light asked, staring at a large map of Aoyama spread across the table.

"Kira's probably a chick, she's in Aoyama, and I personally believe she's killing people because of a particularly nasty case of PMS," Matt drawled, hanging upside down from a couch. "Why?"

"Restating known information is often very helpful in cases like this, Matt. Light-kun is merely trying to give his brain a bit of a boost, and to make sure he is not forgetting anything vital," L mumbled around the thumb stuck in his mouth. He was crouched at the other end of the couch in his usual position, but with his legs spread wider to accommodate his growing stomach.

Light nodded, looking towards the redhead. "You could be taking this a bit more seriously, Matt. If PMS caused women to become mass murderers, the entire human race would have been wiped out long ago. Now, here is where the most drastic drop in population due to death has been," he said, making a large circle on the map with a red marker, "and there are three different high schools in the area, all within a half hour from each other by train." He made three more circles, and held the map up so L and Matt could see.

The redhead groaned. "Tell me again why we're going over this at three in the morning?" He yawned loudly, thumping his head against the couch.

"Because Ryuuzaki here has such horrid sleeping patterns," the brunet replied, stifling a yawn of his own. "Honestly, Ryuuzaki. Most pregnancies have insomnia in the first and third trimester. You slept like a baby for the past three months, and now you're waking us up at all hours of the night to go over the case!"

"I cannot help if I experience a unique pregnancy, Light-kun. And I do my best work at night, when there is no one else around. I woke Matt because he is in training to take over for me, and you woke yourself when I passed your room."

Light sighed. "That's a terrible lie, you know. You came in and pushed me out of bed to find out where the potato chips were at."

L stared silently at the younger man, slipping a cheese-flavored chip past his lips. "What is Light-kun's point in accusing me of such things?"

Light sighed again, shaking his head. "Never mind. To get back on topic, we have these three schools to choose from. Kira is most likely attending one of the, correct?"

"It does seem that way."

"So, what the hell are we going to do with that?" Matt whined, sliding from the couch to the floor. "'m soooo tired. Can't even think straight..."

"We need to find a way to study the students at these schools. It would be useful if we could get someone at each one to agree to act as an informant, but that would be rather difficult; not to mention risky," L said, stacking triangular chips on an end table. "There would be no guarantee we would not accidentally get into contact with Kira, and make them aware of our actions." He carefully took three final chips, propping them against each other to give his tower a pointed top.

"I could do it," Matt offered, waving a hand in the air.

L glanced at him for a moment before tipping the chip bag up and swallowing the remaining crumbs. "No. It would be far too dangerous for you, Matt. We will find another way that does not compromise your safety."

The redhead shoved himself into a sitting position, glaring at the detective. "Oh, c'mon, L. You just said we need someone on the inside, and I'm almost old enough to be in high school here! I can hack myself into their systems easy, and we can say I'm some advanced transfer from America or something."

"I said no, Matt," L snapped, standing and walking towards the kitchen. "Clearly you were correct earlier when you said you were unable to think properly. You will not leave headquarters without my permission, and you will not go to Aoyama. I think we have done enough for tonight. Go back to bed."

Matt was silent for several seconds after L left the room, then groaned loudly. "I'm not a child; I can take care of myself, damn it!" he growled, leaning back against the couch. "It's not like I'm gonna be stupid enough to go get myself killed. I'd find a way to cover my face." He turned to the brunet hopefully. "You'd let me do it, wouldn't you, Light?"

Light shrugged. "Honestly, I probably wouldn't. L did just name you as his heir, and it wouldn't be a good idea for you to go and get yourself killed. He didn't choose you until after he found out he was pregnant, did he? I heard you say something about how long it took him to decide to Matsuda once."

Matt sighed and nodded. "So?"

"So, I wouldn't be surprised if he's planning to retire as L after capturing Kira so he can focus on the baby," the brunet explained. "If something happened to you, he'd have to continue working until he could choose someone new to take his place. Considering how long it apparently took him to decide on you, he would probably miss a large chunk of the baby's childhood. It's really no wonder he wants you to stay safe."

"Whatever," Matt mumbled, shoving himself onto his feet. "I'm going to bed. Night."

Light rolled the map up, tossed it onto the couch, and followed Matt out of the room.

~*~*~

_May 30 2005_

"Where is he?!"

A collective jump ran through the task force as L slammed the door open. Matsuda looked up at the detective nervously. "Where's who, Ryuuzaki?"

"Matt," the raven-haired man growled, crossing the room to check the surveillance tapes. "I noticed a short while ago that he had not shown up yet today, and it is nearly noon. I went to check his room, and not only was he not there, but neither were his laptop or his portable game system, and his closet was nearly half empty." He punched a command into the computer he sat at, and a tape from nearly midnight the night before flashed onto one of the monitors lining the wall. A small, red-haired figure could be seen carrying a fairly large suitcase towards the doors leading out of the building. A blonde was walking alongside him, holding a smaller bag. "Amane..," L hissed angrily, turning and rushing out of the room.

o0O0o0O0o

Misa sighed and stretched. Living at the headquarters for the investigation to find a mass murderer really wasn't anywhere near as interesting as it sounded like it would be. She almost wished she had work today, so she could have an excuse to go out and do something. All the girl ever got to do lately was lay around her room, playing with her hair or napping. She hadn't even gotten a good magazine to read in ages, and she'd fallen weeks behind in _Jump_ because she was too embarrassed about liking it to ever risk Light finding out. He thought most manga was stupid, especially shonen.

A sudden knock on her door got Misa's attention, and she hopped off her bed, crossing the room in a few large strides. She frowned slightly at the look on L's face when she opened the door. "What's wrong, Ryuuzaki?"

"Where is Matt?" he asked quietly.

"Aoyama. Misa helped him leave last night. Matt-kun said Ryuuzaki told him to go look into some schools to try and find Kira, and since it's such a long trip, he had to leave before midnight if he wanted to be able to start classes today. Why?"

"I specifically told him not to do this," L said, sinking down onto the edge of Misa's bed. "Why must children so steadfastly refuse to listen to others?"

Misa frowned. "Was Matt-kun running away?"

"Not running away; no," L sighed, shaking his head. "Around two weeks ago, Matt suggested to Light-kun and myself that he go to investigate the schools in Aoyama we believe Kira may be attending. I told him that we would find a safer way than putting him so close to the danger, and believed that would be the end of it. Apparently, I thought incorrectly."

"Misa's sure Matt-kun will be fine. Ryuuzaki needs to keep himself calm, and make sure he doesn't do something stupid," the model said, flopping onto the bed next to L. "Ryuuzaki has to remember to think of the baby." She poked L's stomach, giggling at the annoyed look she received. "And besides, Misa let him take one of her cell phones with him! It was one she doesn't use much, so he shouldn't get any calls about work or anything. We can call him after he gets out of class."

L nodded. "I suppose that would be acceptable. He should be released in a few hours, and I would certainly hope that Matt can keep himself out of trouble for a single day."


End file.
